The Starlit Void
by Number III
Summary: Louise summons a Milletian merchant right out of the Dunbarton marketplace, a day before their birthday. Things escalate from there.
1. A Grand Something

**The Starlit Void**

(Chapter Zero)

"Speaking"

'_Thought_'

'**Written'**

**Disclaimer:** Zero no Tsukaima / Familiar of Zero (Light Novel) was written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka, and published by Media Factory (Seven Seas Entertainment in the US and Canada.) The first anime was directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki with Studio J, and licensed by Geneon in the US and Canada... but as bluntly as possible in order to save time going through all other installments in the series – these authors are none of these people and have no legitimate claim to the series. Thus this work is strictly non-profit. Any use otherwise is not these authors' doing. Similarly, Mabinogi and all characters, races, concepts, ideas, and other material taken from it is the work and property of Nexon and BGEntertainment. These authors are likewise not affiliated with either group in any way or form and lays no claim to that property.

**.XXX.**

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière stirred as the sun filtered in through the thin white curtains. She cracked her sleepy eyes and held up a hand to block out the insistent rays. With only a slight moan of protest she set about her routine, getting dressed, brushing her hair and generally preparing herself for the day. Today was the day wasn't it? She moaned a little louder in misery as she grabbed her school books. She trudged down the stone hallways of the girls' dormitory like a doomed woman marching to her own execution.

**.XXX.**

Crowded.

That was the first thought that came to Linde's mind as she entered Dunbarton market. There were so many people. Most of them were human, but she still saw a fair number of giants among the crowd - their tall forms stood out easily among the shorter populace. And there were just as many pointed ears about as there were giants, she was sure, though they were harder to spot.

The giantess paused to brush her purple hair out of her eyes to glance across a stand filled with various foods, some fine, some cheap before continuing on her way. Maybe she would make a stop after her business was through, that roasted bear looked tasty.

Not that it was disappointing, how well the elves blended in. Linde didn't feel particularly interested in thinking about their presence any more than she had to. Dunbarton - and Uladh in general - was neutral territory but… the wounds didn't fade, even with a bandage on them. Some hurts never heal. The enmity between the elves and giants was too great for the intervention of the humans to erase. There was progress, of a sort, in that both were here and working with the humans… but it could not truly be said they were working with _each other_. All said, Linde was content to go about her business without acknowledging the elves in the crowd.

But she was getting distracted. Moving on from the grocer, Linde's gaze drifted off toward the left where a man was slumped on a stool and leaning up against the wall of a store. A line of hanging storage bags and cloths made her recall how surprisingly fast her gold pouch had filled over the course of her travels… and how swiftly the supply within that single pouch vanished as well. This in mind, she made her way through the crowd, bodies parting as she approached in deference to her size. As she examined the bags, the man called out to her in a bland, almost disinterested voice,

"Anything you need?"

His face remained tilted lazily upward, mustache hanging sadly across it almost like a dead fish, but his eyes, tired as the rings around them suggested they were, remained focused - not on her - but on everything around, glancing cautiously about in case someone decided his apparent lack of interest meant his wares were on sale for free.

"Ah... yes," Linde replied, clasping her hands together nervously as she realized she was staring. '_That mustache is so…_' "I've been running out of space… Uhm, that is - my gold pouch doesn't quite hold enough, so…"

"So you're looking for more, or a bigger one," The man replied in the same even tone as before, somehow still audible over the noise of the markets. When did he stand up? He was beside the door now, fishing through a lidded basket. Before anything could come of it, however, Linde suddenly felt weightless and, with a startled gasp, fell into a hole that had inexplicably opened up beneath her, tall form taking a second to fade out of sight, hands grasping futilely toward the edge. Just short of touching ground, her hand disappeared into the hole. "Any prefe…" The man turned around, trailing off as the giantess had - somehow - managed to vanish into thin air. He scanned the crowd for a moment or so before shrugging, sighing, and sitting back down - in that order.

**.XXX.**

"Today is the day of your summoning. This is the first exam of your second year." The balding fire professor announced to the gathered class. Not really paying attention, Louise slouched her shoulders and did her best to remain invisible to her peers around her. Why, oh why did she have to brag so much to Zerbst?

"I can't wait to see your 'magnificent' familiar Louise." Louise shuddered as she felt Kirche slide up behind her and grip her shoulders. "Leave me alone." Louise intoned automatically, Kirche's ribbing adding more fuel to her growing self-doubt.

The number of students slowly ticked down, Louise barely registered Guiche's hamming before Professor Colbert shut him up. She chewed on the tip of her wand as her nerves ran amok. What kind of familiar would she be able to call? Would she even be able to perform the ritual in the first place? If she failed... Louise shook her head violently to dislodge the thought. She would do it! She would summon the greatest familiar in the history of the academy!

"Miss Valliere?"

It would be the best!

"Miss Valliere?"

The strongest!

"Umm, Miss Valliere?"

The most noble creature to ever grace the-!

"Miss Valliere, you're the only one who hasn't already summoned their familiar." Colbert finally managed to shake Louise out of her reverie. The youngest Valliere took one last deep breath and stepped out into the empty grass. She ignored the murmuring from the other students, more cruelties directed at her she was sure, and raised her wand high into the air. She did her best to appear calm and in control despite her trembling hands.

"I beg of you, my slave, who lives somewhere in the universe!"

She ignored the confused stares and hushed conversations.

"Oh sacred, grand, beautiful, and strong familiar spirit! I desire and plead from my heart! Answer to my guidance!"

"Well at least it's unique." Guiche mumbled to Montmorency as they took a step back, bracing for the inevitable explosion.

With a final dramatic slash of her wand she released the mana building within her... and was met with a loud boom and a cloud of billowing black smoke… followed by a high-pitched, feminine scream as… something… impacted the ground, dispelling the smoke and giving Louise her first view of her familiar.

In a word, she was - and, a surveying glance at the figure sprawled ungracefully on the ground determined it was definitely a she - large. In every way. She was currently seated, but even so she remained as tall as Louise herself - maybe a few inches taller. Her shoulders were broad. Her hands were huge. And her figure was still curvaceous despite this size. She was wearing a warm looking woolen coat, oddly bright and course looking despite its material, with… small pants. And stockings. And fur-trimmed boots. A pouch hung off her belt, holding a sizable amount of… something… within its confines, and a massive sword was strapped to her back, angled oddly by its tip's contact with the ground. Everything about her conveyed a sense of strength… except for the nervous, shocked expression on her face as she gazed wildly about the courtyard.

And then the giantess stood.

Several gasps sounded as all the spectating students took a step back, heads tilting upwards to track the summoned beings' face. Louise herself had to nearly lean back to meet her eyes. This was… Louise didn't quite know what to think. If there was anything to those trunk-like limbs, her familiar was certainly strong - at least. And beautiful, as well, the pinkette conceded after another appraising glance at her figure now that she was standing. But sacred? Grand? Certainly, there was a grand _something_ here, if only it was size. Size of the summon… or size of the failure. Louise wasn't sure whether or not this could constitute as a success.

"Mr. Colbert…?" Louise asked uncertainly, hoping for some sort of guidance.

"Fascinating..." The balding fire professor strode confidently up to the huge woman, who tracked him nervously across the courtyard, fidgeting in place. "You certainly have summoned an interesting familiar Miss Valliere." He said while looking the giantess up and down. The large woman squirmed slightly at his wandering eyes and Louise could tell she was resisting the urge to cover herself with her arms.

"Mr. Colbert." Louise tried again, this time less uncertain and more unamused.

"Ah, yes, forgive me, Miss Valliere," The man responded, turning toward her and backing out of the way, hand flexing against his staff, "Please continue the ritual."

"R-right." She answered, stumbling for a moment before steeling herself. Striding purposefully up to the summon, and unhappily noting she barely reached the enormous woman's hip, Louise began reciting the words to the ritual, "My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Valliere. Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, please bless this humble being and make her my fa-" Then… Louise paused, and looked up. And up. She couldn't interject anything now that she had started until she was done, so she couldn't outright ask the woman to kneel down so she could complete the ritual… assuming she could understand… and was willing… and, oh Founder, this could end so terribly and - Shaking her head, Louise tried pointing down while looking her familiar-to-be in the eyes, only to elicit a confused face in return. Louise pointed again, and the woman's head tilted while she said something indecipherable in a nervous, questioning tone. Louise continued staring and, shrugging, the woman brought herself down on one knee… and was still taller than Louise, who only reached up to her shoulder.

The woman's face looked honestly confused but… Louise still had to crane her neck to see that. Resisting the urge to swallow nervously, she continued where she had left off, tapping the woman on the shoulder with her wand, "-miliar." Then Louise blushed, and looked up again at the perplexed woman. Leaning forward onto the tips of her toes, she barely managed to peck the woman's chin. Quickly retreating, and ignoring the complete shock written all of her familiar-to-be, Louise watched. And waited. It didn't take long. The familiar had just opened her mouth to ask another question when her left hand lit up as the familiar runes burned themselves into her skin. Curiously, the enormous woman didn't exhibit anything beyond minor discomfort. Her bewildered face spoke more of suspicion and fright than a reaction to any sort of pain…. which was odd, because the runes tended to be painful for 'softer' creatures. Then again, nothing about the woman - aside from her behavior - suggested any sort of fragility.

"Congratulations, Miss Valliere, it seems you succeeded in 'Contract Familiar' on the first try." Colbert cast a surveying glance around the field before nodding to himself, satisfied, "Now, if you would allow me to record the runes, we can all retire for the day." The scholarly man stepped forward and held out a hand towards the giantess but she was reluctant and held both arms even closer to herself. "Come now, there is nothing to fear." The man said reassuringly, with a kindly smile, and gestured to her freshly inscribed hand. Hesitantly the huge woman allowed the professor to pull her hand towards himself by a single digit and after a moment of examining the runes, Colbert scratched a copy onto a waiting roll of parchment.

"It's just like you to summon a timid giant Louise. The size of it certainly matches the size of your boasts." The voice of Kirche sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Louise. She just had to try and ruin her moment didn't she? Unaware or uncaring of Louise's discomfort, Kirche continued, "One has to wonder if the spirit isn't a little lacking, though... just like your talent Zero."

"You-!" Louise started, but was interrupted by Colbert.

"That was unbecoming of a young noble lady such as yourself, Miss Zerbst." Without further elaboration, his reproachful eyes scanned the rest of the crowd, cowing any other would-be trouble makers before their mischief could even begin, "Now, if there are no other comments," His eyes flickered back over to Kirche, who cringed, "then I believe it is time you return to your dorms." Looking back to Louise, Colbert's stern expression softened, "Miss Valliere, in your case… please do not hesitate to notify the staff if any… unique… difficulties occur. We will do what we can to sort it out." With those words, and a subtle glance at the giantess, Colbert and the rest of the class departed, taking to the air as if gravity had no meaning to them, and prompting a startled gasp from behind Louise.

Sighing, Louise turned to the giantess, who was still staring after the other students, "Now… what am I to do with you?" She asked. Rhetorically, as she doubted that her familiar spoke the same language. Though she certainly spoke _something_, so she was intelligent, at least. "Well… come along then; let's go to my room." Louise said as she grasped and tugged one of the giantess' fingers. "Classes are done for today and I would like to catch up on my studies." It was the truth. Louise, usually a diligent student, had spent more time focusing on the upcoming ritual than anything else. Her other subjects had suffered for it, as a result.

'_Not that my knowledge of theory has done me much good.'_ She thought, somewhat bitterly.

The giantess stood and Louise had to marvel at her sheer height once again. With an annoyed huff, she noted she had to raise her arm uncomfortably high to keep grasp of the giantess' finger - finger, because the hand itself was too large to get any sort of real grip. Louise 'pulled' the giantess along the grassy field towards the girls' dorm in the distance. There weren't any real problems aside from the dangerous creaking of the wooden stairs that led up to the floor her room was on. Thankfully, the hallways were wide and the ceilings tall enough for the giantess to walk through them without needing to stoop. Arriving at the door, Louise opened it with her free hand…

**.XXX.**

Linde was confused. Very confused. She had no idea where she was, how she got here, what these people were saying - and, for that matter, what had happened to her hand. And it didn't look like she would be getting any answers any time soon, either. The little girl who had led her to this room had fallen fast asleep after spending an hour or so uselessly trying to speak with her, and then one after that staring at the ceiling in frustration after throwing a wad of worn clothing in her face. So Linde was left to herself in a room that - while large by human standards, she was sure - only just managed to comfortably fit her. Sighing, the giantess carefully strode over to the window on the far side of the room. Checking to see if it had a latch, and noticing one at the bottom of the frame, she thought about opening it before glancing back at the sleeping girl on the bed and deciding to refrain. More than a little frustrated, but with nothing to take those feelings out on, she slid onto the stone floor in discontent, gazing up at the twin moves above.

'_Eweca is bright tonight...'_ She thought, staring at the small, vibrant moon, '_I wonder if it's just as bright, back in Dunbarton? Or back home, in Vales?'_

Sprawled lengthwise across the ground, Linde stared at the moons. Questions and concerns passed momentarily from her mind, put to rest until the morning came. She couldn't have said when she fell asleep.

**.XXX.**

Nao paced back and forth and bit one of her nails in worry. In the stark white confines of The Soul Stream she had felt one of her Milletians, her children, vanish without a trace. She could sense them all connected to her, call them all by name and remember all of their birthdays but she couldn't tell which of her children had vanished or where they had gone and that left her with a cold pit of dread lodged in the bottom of her stomach. She supposed she could try to check every one of them but there were just so many... With a sigh she slumped to the immaculate white floor of the Soul Stream, Milletians couldn't die. If that held true she would find them within a year anyway... so why didn't that make her feel any better? Because she didn't know. They were gone, and she didn't know why or how… and that scared her. The last time one of them went out of her reach, she very nearly didn't come back. And there was nothing Nao could do about it. And now again, one of them was beyond her senses… and there was little she could do but wait.

**.XXX.**

Louise was not having a good morning. Her familiar couldn't understand her, ergo, it could not follow any directions and - as a result - understand her request to do her laundry last night. Useless but… It could be corrected in time. With patience. Hopefully. Shouting at her familiar hadn't accomplished anything but let out some of the pressure that had been building up and, in hindsight, was probably a bad idea considering the unhappy look on the giantess' face. She would have to figure out a way to tutor her. In the mean time, she had to get ready for class. She had just turned toward her dresser to pull out her clothes for the day when she heard a woman panting behind her. Raising an eyebrow she was about to go back to finding her clothes and leave her familiar to... whatever it was she was doing when she heard a weary voice.

"Linde... happy birthday, why was it so hard to get here?"

Who…?

"Nao!"

And that was, recognizably, her familiar's voice. So… there were…

Louise turned around, to find a strange woman in a black dress had somehow entered the room. She was tall - nowhere near as tall as the giantess, but taller than Kirche - and possessing of a figure that was just as voluptuous as her Germanian rival's. Her hair, oddly enough, was stark white and hanging in two long tails tied up by a pair of black ribbons. She held a simple shepherd's crook in her hands that looked a lot like Tabitha's staff. Was the woman a mage? Did she know her familiar?

"Nao, are you alright?" The giantess questioned, moving over to support the woman who - now that Louise was paying attention - looked out of breath. Then Louise processed that statement. As in, she understood it.

"I can understand you!" Louise couldn't believe it, was her familiar just pretending all this time? Or did this woman have something to do with it? How could that work? There was no such thing as a translation spell - not in any of the books she had read was there any mention of such a thing... and she hadn't heard any kind of incantation, even if there were. Both of the women blinked, and the giantess' face spoke of her confusion.

"Yes… It seems you can," the giantess ventured uncertainly.

"Who is this Linde, a friend?" The newcomer queried from her place in the air, held up as she was by the giantess' arms.

Louise frowned at that, cutting the giantess off before she could respond, "That's my question. Who are _you_? How did you get in here? How do you know my familiar?"

The woman tilted her head, face frozen for a moment, "Ah… you can see…" She trailed off, processing the entirety of what Louise just said, "Familiar, did you say?"

Louise nodded, "Yes. I summoned and contracted her as my familiar yesterday."

The woman sent a questioning glance at the giantess propping her above the ground, receiving a minute shrug and a baffled expression in return. The pleasant smile on the woman's face became slightly strained as she glanced back to Louise, "I came here because it is my dear friend's birthday but… this place…" She glanced toward the window and back, "I was worried I would have to wait a full year before I found out where my missing Milletian went but… it seems I have my answer."

Her missing… What? Louise's frown deepened, "Regardless of previous affiliations, this woman has been summoned and bound as my familiar in accordance with the sacred rite. She is_ my_ familiar, and these are _my_ quarters. How did you get in here undetected?"

The reward for her efforts was a strange expression somewhere between mischief and malice as the woman tilted her head behind her slightly, "There is a door. You must have been too preoccupied to notice me - I apologize for not announcing my arrival, but - you see - I was concerned for my friend." She frowned. Or, rather, her smile thinned into a line. "She's a very dear friend. I protect my friends, and care for them a great deal, so when I find that she has vanished from home… well, I searched. You _claimed_ her? A living, intelligent, thinking, _feeling_ being?"

The woman was still smiling but an odd sort of pressure had descended within the confines of the room, making Louise shift uncomfortably. Somehow, it felt as if she were locked into a cage with her mother's manticore after it had been woken up prematurely and was in a particularly foul mood. There was… something primally frightening about this woman, whose demeanor had been nothing but pleasant so far. But her actions did not match her words. There was agitation hidden beneath that smile. This was the impression Louise received.

"Ah, Nao…" The woman looked to the giantess Louise had summoned, and - like that - her smile became genuine and the oppressive air faded, "uhm, please don't be too hard on her. She's so young… This is a misunderstanding, I'm sure."

The woman's smile thinned ever so slightly, but she nodded anyway, twin streams of hail shifting like a pair of water spouts. "Of course not. She is, as you said, young. Anyone can make a mistake. I was just worried. You disappeared, you know? I couldn't sense you at all. But it seems I've been distracted from the purpose of my visit," She held out her hand, and Louise blanched when a pouch materialized on her palm - seemingly from nowhere. What level of magic was that? "It's your birthday today." The pouch was deposited into the giantess' hands, which carefully opened it and pulled out an intricate trinket on a chain. It was shaped roughly like a clover and made of silver. The entire structure was made of interconnected bars, twisted about to give the impression that it was made of vines. The craftsmanship, Louise considered, was impeccable. "It is, as always, enchanted with a minor warding cantrip to protect you against spells and weapons of war."

This made Louise's head spin. She had just watched this unknown woman conjure an intricate piece of jewelry of high quality (with packaging) that was simultaneously enchanted. Which… she had no idea how that was even possible. Maybe it was summoned, rather than forged on spot? But the only 'summoning' she was aware of was the Springtime Summoning Ritual, which was certainly not something useable as casually as this - let alone for a specific item. This… just how skilled a mage _was_ this woman?

"Thank you," The giantess spoke, sincerely, unravelling a chain around the trinket and hanging it about her neck, "You didn't have to-"

"I wanted to." The woman responded simply, smiling kindly. She turned to Louise, "I will take my leave now… but I _will_ be staying in contact. Linde is neither a pet, nor a position. She is - if she wills it - your partner, companion, and perhaps friend if you would allow it." Before Louise could say another word, the woman spun on her heel and… disappeared in a shower of light.

Louise's jaw dropped… and then managed to snap close just as the woman returned, a small frown on her face.

"Hm. Just how far away _did_ you manage to summon Linde?" She mused aloud. "This is… concerning."

"What do you mean, Nao?" The giantess - Linde - queried.

Nao's frown shifted into a miniscule smile, though her eyes remained tightened in concern, "Well… There is something blocking me. I can't seem to return to Erinn. I can reach the Soul Stream, from here, but it is… different. Not the same."

Louise could take no more at this point, "Who _**are**_ you?! How did you do that? Where is this 'Erinn?'"

"Nao is Nao," Linde inputted simply.

"That's not an answer!" Louise accused.

The giantess shrugged simply, and Nao continued smiling.

**.XXX.**

Linde quietly closed the door behind her and turned to walk quickly down the hallway. She needed to get a little air, Nao and her 'master' were having a shouting match, well Louise was the one shouting, and the atmosphere made her a little uncomfortable. Nao was here, she could barely believe it! She was sure there were probably many far reaching consequences for that but she was happy for the company all the same.

Linde quickly made her way down the groaning stairs, making a mental note to ask someone to reinforce them before she fell through, and out into the sunlight. Her gait slowed when she finally made it out of the tower, the green grass and warm sun did a lot to make her feel at ease. The entire situation was like something out of a bad story and finding out that she was supposedly 'owned' by Louise was just icing on the cake. And Nao had a few words to say about that particular situation. The sun and pleasant scenery had almost lulled the Giantess into a trance when she felt something collide with her knee and heard a feminine shriek of pain. Worried that she had hurt someone by running them over she leapt backwards to find a maid sprawled out on the grass with an upturned basket of damp white cloth.

"Oh, I'm sorry are you alright?" Linde fussed over the maid, reaching down and lifting her back onto her feet with gentle hands. What were they feeding the staff? The poor girl barely weighed anything. She was brushing the stray bits of the lawn off of the poor girl when the maid finally managed to come to her senses.

"Oh, no, it was my fault, I should have been watching where I was going." The small black haired girl finished straightening her uniform before turning to the person she had bumped into... and was met with the sight of a torso. Her eyes slowly trailed upwards until she met the eyes of the giantess, a full double her own own height. "You're the Familiar Miss Valliere Summoned, I didn't get a chance to see you very closely," She paused, trailing off, "You're so tall..."

Linde smiled at the young maid. "Being a giant comes with being tall. Here let me help you with that." Reaching around the young maid Linde picked up the fallen basket and replaced the now grass covered cloth. "I'm Linde by the way." She said as she sat the basket next to the girl's feet.

"I'm Siesta; it's nice to meet you Linde. My grandfather used to tell me stories about giants and other things, I never imagined that I would get to meet one." Siesta smiled before looking down at the basket and frowning. "Oh, now I have to wash this table cloth again," Siesta pouted.

"Fami-OW! Watch where your steppi- err I mean, Linde we're going to breakfast!"

Linde turned towards Nao and Louise, who was rubbing her foot like she had accidentally kicked something and standing next to an innocently smiling Nao. "Coming, I'll be there in a moment!" She shouted back to them. "Sorry Siesta, I would help you with that but I need to go."

"Ah, it's ok Miss Linde, I can take care of it." Siesta answered before turning and waving goodbye with a small smile as she left to rewash the soiled fabric. Linde returned the gesture before joining Nao and Louise.

**.XXX.**

"Normally," Louise explained as she lead Nao and Linde into a grassy courtyard, "we would eat in the dining hall. But today we are meant to be bonding with our familiars, and are thus expected to spend most of our time outside with them - where they would be most comfortable." Anticipating some kind of reaction from Nao, and not wanting to risk the ire of someone that was clearly a skilled mage (particularly before she could find out more about her), Louise quickly continued, "Of course, this was planned with the assumption that the familiar would be an animal or magical beast of some sort. An intelligent familiar is completely unheard of." There was an unoccupied table in the corner of the yard, out of the way of everyone else, and Louise led the pair following her to it. The chairs were well-crafted, but thin and delicate looking. After examining them, Linde nonchalantly moved one aside and seated herself on the grass - still capable of reaching the table itself easily, and not risking expensive furniture in the process. Nao, by contrast, seated herself demurely between the giantess and Louise, hands folded politely in her lap as her eyes trailed about their surroundings.

A few moments of slightly uncomfortable silence passed before one of the servants arrived and placed some tea on the table. Louise took a sip of the pleasant tea and looked across the top of her cup at the mysterious mage who claimed to be a dear friend of her familiar. Linde seemed to know her quite well and there was an obvious deference that the giantess paid to the strange woman. Had she summoned a retainer or favored subordinate? Louise felt a little sweat creep down the back of her neck; if Nao was a member of a foreign noble family and took offense to her snatching Linde away it could be a serious problem.

"Please give the maker of this tea my regards," The woman in question spoke, kindly, as the servant made to depart.

"Ah, of course, I will return with your cake shortly" The servant responded, slightly bewildered, before excusing herself and promising to return shortly.

"Excuse me, Miss Nao... I apologize but I don't believe I ever heard your family name and it is improper of me to just continue referring to you by your given name..." Louise trailed off with a small gesture. Nao's ever present smile shifted slightly as if to say 'I'm onto you' before she returned her teacup to its saucer and placed both of her hands in her lap. "Nao Mariota Pryderi," The woman stated simply before returning to her tea. Louise mulled over the odd name for a moment... was that Gallian? Possibly something from the east... the last one almost sounded like an old Albionian name... which left her, exactly where she had started. Louise let her head hit the table with a thump that had the other two girls trading concerned glances.

"Are you alright Louise?" Linde asked, placing a hand on her back that was heavy to the point of being uncomfortable.

"Here are your cakes." The servant said as she returned, expertly placing the confections around the table alongside silverware and a fresh teapot. "Is there something wrong with Miss Valliere? Should I fetch a healer?" She asked placing the fourth piece of cake she had carried in her arms aside as she felt Louise's forehead with the back of her hand.

"Louise is fine. She's just experiencing a case of debilitating frustration." Nao assured, taking another sip of tea, before placing it onto the platter once more.

"Would you like to take a break and join us for some tea, Siesta?" Linde asked with a broad smile.

"Oh no I couldn't possibly take a break now. I still have to finish delivering cakes to the rest of the students." Siesta's face flushed and she held up her hands defensively. "If I was reported I could get fired." She said in a slightly panicked tone of voice.

Linde's smile faltered, "I'm sure it would be fine if you-"

"Hey, Is my cake here yet?" Came a young man's voice from several tables over.

"Ah! Right away!" Siesta called back, her face suddenly fearful.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Siesta." Nao said as she stood up and handed the maid the plate of cake.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that noble Miss." Siesta said with a bow of thanks.

"Please call me Nao. You had better hurry; that young man looks impatient." Nao returned Siesta's bow and returned to her seat gracefully as the maid rushed off to deliver the cake.

"A proper noble shouldn't be so familiar with the servants, Miss Pryderi." Louise said as she sat up and took her own cup of tea into her hand. This woman just kept adding more and more strangeness on top of the mystery that already surrounded her. Where in the world did the nobility treat commoners like that?

"If one does not address a servant with respect, how is it they can address a peer with respect?" Nao countered easily, gaze tracking the maid as she crossed the yard before turning to meet Louise's eyes, "It does no harm to be a little friendly every now and then." The atmosphere tensed as Louise stared incredulously at Nao, who was smiling serenely. Seated between these two, Linde tracked both individuals somewhat nervously before catching sight of a crowd gathering around a table across the courtyard and frowning. Nao took notice, "Is something wrong, Linde?"

Before Linde could respond, the young man from before spoke over the crowd once more, "Looks like you don't know how to show proper manners to your superiors!"

"I-I-I didn't mean anything by it Sir Gramont, I was only trying to return your property," Came a quiet voice that the three girls at the table could barely hear. As the sound floated over the loud noises of the crowd Linde and Nao Stood to look over at the scene. Louise raised an eyebrow, why were they so interested in Guiche getting caught cheating on Montmorency with a random first year girl.

"Can't you tell when a situation requires tact? When I said it wasn't mine you should have listened." Linde was already moving before Guiche finished speaking.

"W-wait! Where do you think your going!?" Louise jumped to her feet and started after the giant. She turned to ask Miss Pryderi to stop the wayward Giantess but she was nowhere to be seen. As she ran after Linde Louise heard a sudden collective gasp from the crowd and a sudden crack of flesh hitting wood and a masculine yelp of pain. Louise pushed her way through the gathered students. If there was one advantage to having a giant as a familiar it was that she was impossible to miss in a crowd. As she finally made it to the front and caught sight of the scene she couldn't help but stare. Guiche was hunched over and clutching his wrist in pain with a smiling Nao standing over him with her shepherd's crook held at the ready. Linde was standing behind Nao with one hand on the handle of her sword and glaring daggers at the blonde fop.

"Agh! What did you do to my hand?" Guiche whined as he straightened with tears in his eyes. Louise swallowed the cotton in her mouth as the crowd started whispering, asking questions that no one knew the answers to. Some of them had seen them eating together that morning at breakfast and were already pointing towards her. More and more eyes found their way towards her but before they could start asking her questions their attention was drawn back to the scene.

"I merely stopped you from unfairly punishing an innocent girl." Nao said with a smile that looked almost as terrifying as the one she had seen that morning.

Guiche look dumb struck for a moment before he shouted accusingly at the strange woman "You struck me!"

"I struck no one. It was your hand which met my staff." Nao replied with that same serene manner she always seemed to possess.

Taunts rang out from the crowd immediately. Things such as, "Ha! She really got you there Guiche!" or "Thats what you get for two timing!" and even "Guiche the bronze? More like Guiche the wet parchment!" As the boy who called out that last jab finished shouting everyone suddenly took a step away from him and shot him strange looks. "What? It wasnt that bad!"

Louise couldn't help but sprout a vicious grin, finally someone else was the subject of the schools taunts and teasing, it felt pretty good to just be a bystander for once.

Guiche moved subtly and in a flash Linde was in front of Nao with Guiche's wand in hand. Her sword was drawn and a faint light was emiting from the ruins on the hand that held the wand. Linde held her sword in a relaxed position but the threat was obvious.

"Attempt to raise your hand to any of the servants again and you lose a hand." Linde's voice was ice cold and held a danger that Louise hadn't even thought her familiar was capable of. "Attempt to raise your hand against Nao again and you lose something more important." Louise was suddenly aware of the.. strategic placement of Linde's blade as she gently tapped the tip against Guiche's inner thigh. Louise shivered and took note of all the boys in the crowd who suddenly clenched their legs together and were shaking even more than she was.

"There's no need for that, Linde," Nao posited, "I think Guiche here has learned his lesson, right?" Her benign expression turned back to Guiche, who nodded shakingly. Linde removed her sword, but made no motions to return the wand. Her chilled gaze remained fastened on Guiche even as Nao straightened her staff and glanced at his hand, "Now… as it seems you will not be striking any defenseless maidens today, would you like that healed?"

"Y-yes, please." Guiche ground his teeth as he spoke. From the pain of his broken wrist or the pain of his broken ego, Louise wasn't sure.

Nao's eyes slanted, shifting her expression smoothly from veiled malice into genuine kindness. Without a word, she lifted her staff and a quintet of azure lights gathered around it, forming from the air. Tilting it forward, they merged into Guiche's wrist. With an audible crack and several disturbing pops - but, notably, not screams of pain - his broken appendage righted itself. Guiche blinked in shock at the display, absently flexing his newly mended wrist experimentally and at a complete loss for words. Louise didn't blame him. While a square-class water mage could have healed him in potentially the same amount of time, dulling the pain simultaneously while maintaining a near instantaneous recovery speed was no easy feat. Doable, possibly, but only with extreme skill and control - or, perhaps, more than one mage. Nao had just done it by herself, with no visible strain, and nothing more than a wave of her staff.

The gathered students were silent as though they had no breath with which to speak. They stood in their ring with stunned expressions. "What!?" The sound of Montmorency's voice finally broke the silence and the gathered students were clamoring to speak. Louise was buffeted by shifting bodies as students scrambled forward to speak. "How did you do that so easily?" "Did she just appear out of thin air?" "No it must have been a wind spell…" "Wind _**and**_ water?!" "You're not possessed by a spirit or something are you?" Nao blinked, her face painted with bafflement at the situation she found herself in. It was… odd, to Louise. Did she not expect this kind of reaction? After that display? The only logical conclusion was, no, she didn't. Which meant that, wherever Nao came from, such magic was _commonplace_. Or, less probably, she was isolated and never had the opportunity to demonstrate it, but what were the odds of that?

However, it seemed Louise wasn't the only one to notice Nao's discomfort as - without warning - Linde had moved forward and collected Nao with one massive arm and deposited the woman on her back. Then she collected the maid under one arm and, without warning, broke through the crowd to collect Louise with her free remaining hand before beating a hasty retreat. By the time Louise could gather her bearings the giantess had deposited her three surprised passengers onto the ground inside of a random, vacant classroom.

When she did, however…

"How dare you handle a noble in such a manner?!" She shouted, flustered.

Sheepishly, the giantess shied away with a nervous smile on her face - notably, blocking the door (which opened inward) with her large frame. Before Louise's volcanic temper could finally erupt in full, Nao interceded on Linde's behalf, "Don't be too harsh. I'm sure she was just trying to help." The woman stated, casting a kind glance to Linde who nodded earnestly, "and I'm grateful she did. To think a simple healing spell would garner such a reaction…"

"What's wrong with all of these kids? Who reacts like that to a simple healing spell?" Linde intoned from her spot blocking the entrance.

"You shouldn't have done that." Siesta said as she sat down on the floor between Linde and Nao. "Now Mr. Gramont will be upset with me."

"Well he's going to have to come to me before he has a chance to do anything!" Linde snickered as she tossed the boy's rose wand up in down in her hand. "If you like I could remind him of my little threat."

"You stole his wand!" Louise shouted. "Thats an enormous insult!"

The giantess tilted her head, "Is it?" She glanced at the rose-wand in her hand, "I don't see a wand, though. This is a flower, isn't it? It's not unheard of but, something like this… it's easily replaceable, right?"

Before Louise could start off on another tirade, Nao intervened once more, "Be that as it may," she stated, "you should still return it and apologize. It's not yours, after all." The white-haired woman turned her gaze to Siesta, who had buried her face in her hands, "And I'm sure Mr. Gramont will not be bothering you again anytime soon. In any case, he has other things on his mind at the moment, I'm sure." Nao rose to her feet and smoothed out her dress. "Perhaps we should return to your room, Louise."

Following Nao's lead Linde opened the door just a crack to peer into the hallway beyond. "I don't see anyone." After a moment of waiting and listening for footsteps or voices the giantess motioned for them to head into the hallway.

"Can't you just teleport us there?" Louise huffed at Nao as Linde helped Siesta to her feet.

Nao placed her hand on Louise's shoulder and guided her out the door and out of the way of Siesta and Linde before her smile morphed into a thoughtful expression. "That wouldn't be a good idea Louise."

"Why not?" Louise asked, more curious of the reason than upset that she would have to walk.

"It would be dangerous." Nao replied as the group hurried down the steps and out into the courtyard. Louise looked around and sighed in relief that the rabble of students had seemingly dispersed. With clipped steps the group made their way back into the girls' dormitories and up the wooden stairs. Louise sped up her steps as they reached the floor that her room was on, she pulled the key from her pocket and was nearly to her door when a busty, red headed germanian stepped out of an open closet right in her path.

"K-Kirche!" Louise skidded to a stop, barely avoiding crashing right into the top heavy girl's chest.

Kirche poked Louise in the forehead with a finger as Nao, Linde, and Siesta came to a stop behind her. "Ok, Valliere spill. Who is this noble lady? She has been here all day and you haven't bothered to introduce her to anyone."

"It's none of your business Zerbst!" Louise hissed, suddenly irate at having to speak with the wench.

"Oh, come now Louise. Surely you were taught at least enough manners to introduce your guest?" Kirche smirked as Louise audibly ground her teeth.

Before Louise could blow up anymore at Kirche, Nao stepped between the two girls with a bright smile. "Hello there Miss. Zerbst was it? I am Nao Mariota Pryderi, Louise's tutor. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Louise's, she has so few."

Kirche was taken aback by the woman in front of her. She was beautiful, _almost_ as attractive as herself. "Yes a pleasure. I wasn't aware Louise's family had sent her a private tutor."

Louise stared on in horror as the two spoke amicably. After a few moments Louise regained her senses and grabbed Nao's hand and tugged her away towards her door. "Sorry Zerbst, have to study, very important!" Louise pulled Nao through the door, quickly followed by Linde and a still trembling Siesta.

The door slammed shut and Kirche couldn't help but stare. Another smirk crawled onto her lips before she turned around to return to her own room. "Hmm, so very interesting Valliere..."

**.X.**

**Author's Notes**

**Author (Number-III):** And surprise! I'm not dead. Was talking with a friend of mine and we decided to write an FoZ fic. After a brief period of tossing ideas out, we settled on Mabinogi because it's something we're both relatively familiar with. A very slightly AU Mabinogi, but that won't really come into play much. Anyone who has read 'Wind and Water' will probably know what I mean by that (and no, this fic won't spoil anything even though W&W is incomplete.) The both of us are new to co-writing, though, so there will probably be some stumbling and such before we figure it out and reach an equilibrium. To that end, please forgive any awkward moments and - as always - feel free to speak your mind if you notice something odd… as long as you're constructive about it. Anything toxic will simply be ignored.

**Co-Author (Radon):** Aww, you mean I can't use the flames in my new steam powered printer? Bummer... Well since Numbers didn't leave me much to talk about I'll go ahead and just put the gratuitous begging for reviews in here... Please review I beg you! My life is meaningless without them!


	2. Simple Things

**The Starlit Void**

(Chapter Two)

"Speaking"

'_Thought_'

'**Written'**

**Disclaimer:** Zero no Tsukaima / Familiar of Zero (Light Novel) was written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka, and published by Media Factory (Seven Seas Entertainment in the US and Canada.) The first anime was directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki with Studio J, and licensed by Geneon in the US and Canada... but as bluntly as possible in order to save time going through all other installments in the series – these authors are none of these people and have no legitimate claim to the series. Thus this work is strictly non-profit. Any use otherwise is not these authors' doing. Similarly, Mabinogi and all characters, races, concepts, ideas, and other material taken from it is the work and property of Nexon and BGEntertainment. These authors are likewise not affiliated with either group in any way or form and lays no claim to that property.

**.XXX.**

_Death. It was a surprising state of being. She was numb, unable to move or feel or think with any sort of will, as if her body, soul, and mind had all been dipped into some sort of thick soup and left to cool. But, though her thoughts were clouded and unresponsive, and she certainly couldn't really feel the knife that had been wedged into her side or the myriad other wounds she'd sustained over the course of this encounter. The sounds of the world had faded away - beyond incoherent murmurs and into absolute silence. There wasn't even the constant ringing in one's ears that was always there, if one were to listen for it. No feeling, no sound. And her sight as well had turned to black._

_But despite all this, she could remember, clearly, that last moment before it had turned to darkness._

_The sky was bright that day as it always was here. The only shadow on it was her hair blocking her view. In stories, didn't tragedies always happen in the rain, on a clouded day? But today the desert sun continued to burn as mercilessly as ever._

_The second time she'd been in this place, under this sun._

_She hated it just as much as she had the last time._

_Why had she remained with the caravan instead of parting at Rano and continuing on her own?_

_Oh, that's right._

_Safety…_

**.XXX.**

Linde jolted awake and looked wildly around the brightening room half expecting to see a blade plunging towards her unprotected stomach. When no shadowed figure emerged blade in hand she allowed herself to take a calming breath as she waited for her heart to stop hammering in her chest. With a groan she pulled herself to her hands and knees, cursing the fact that her 'Master' had her sleep on the small pile of hay. Such a thing wasn't good for a lady's posture... or anything really. The fog over her mind lifted and she remembered what she had been asked to do the night before and with a hand that would look monstrous next to the small figure beneath the blanked reached out to shake Louise awake.

Louise woke up with a panicked squawk as Linde shook her probably a little too hard. "Wagh! What are you doing!" The little pinkette shouted after finally managing to untangle herself from her sheets and glare at the sleepy giant across the mattress.

"Waking you up." Linde said as she stretched her arms.

"Hmph, be more gentle next time." Louise said as she walked over to her dresser and began laying out her clothes for the day. Louise paused just as she held up a pair of her 'delicates' and looked at the giant beyond. She hummed slightly as she contemplated asking Linde to dress her like she would a personal servant but decided that there were better ways to end up with bruises and torn clothes... like failing at casting... again.

"Sorry I forget my own strength sometimes." Linde replied as she observed Louise, who was inexplicably angry again. Once the girl started to disrobe Linde averted her eyes and stood from her spot on the floor, wondering if bipolar disorder was common in this strange land. "I'm going to go stretch my legs and see what I can do about breakfast." Linde said as she made for the door.

"Wait for me! I'm coming with you!" Louise shouted as she rapidly tugged on her clothes. "I don't want you to get into a fight again today so I'm going to have to watch you and Miss Pryderi closely!"

Linde raised an eyebrow but waited patiently for the girl to finish dressing and brush her hair into some semblance of tidy. Louise turned to the giant before pausing and looking at the brush in her hand. "Here, you need to brush your hair. I won't have my familiar walking around looking like they just woke up." She said before tossing Linde the almost comically small brush.

"Umm, thanks." Linde said before leaning down to the mirror next to Louise and straightening out her own purple bob. It only took a few minutes to properly straighten her hair and when she was done it was only a short while until they left and headed down the stairs to breakfast.

The walk through the courtyard was as peaceful as the morning before. Linde couldn't help but pause when they passed the front gate and the pleasant looking grassland beyond stretched on for seemingly forever. Her attention was pulled from the scenery when the central tower loomed just ahead. Linde turned to wave to Louise, expecting her to break for the student dining hall but was surprised when the little mage was still right behind her. "Louise?" Linde asked while perking an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to eat with the other students?"

"I'm going with you, I have to keep an eye on you remember?" Louise said as she placed her hands on her hips in what Linde guessed was an effort to 'look more in charge.'

"To the Kitchens?" Linde found the situation funny and couldn't help but grin at the little mage.

"Yes to the Kitchens! Are we going to eat or are you going to keep us longer?" Louise huffed and walked ahead. Linde giggled a little at the girl before easily stepping ahead and opening the kitchen door for her little master before following her inside... only to nearly trip over a stunned Louise as she stared at something with mouth agape.

"W-w-what are you doing!?"

**.XXX.**

Nao reappeared in a flash of light in the dark of Louise's room in the early morning. Sadly she had mistimed her appearance and it would be a few hours still before Linde or Louise would be waking up. Deciding not to disturb them Nao took a seat by the window to gaze out at the still sleeping academy and the forest beyond that bordered the grassland that stretched out in the opposite direction. It had been such a long time since she had enjoyed a morning like this, just sitting and waiting for the sunrise. It was... peaceful was the best word for it. It reminded her of her past, of waiting for the sun to come up so she could run outside to practice her archery. Unfortunately Nao was pulled from her pleasant reminiscing by the sound of the door and a beam of light cutting the room in two.

"Oh, good morning Miss. Pryderi, I didn't mean to disturb you so early." Siesta said as she quickly entered the room and set about gathering Louise's dirty clothes into a basket.

"It's fine," Nao answered kindly, "you are only doing your job. In comparison, isn't it odd that I'm awake at this hour regardless?" She gestured to Louise who was curled comfortably in her bed, and Linde who was… laying across the floor and using a pile of hay as a pillow. Mentally, Nao made a note to talk to Louise about that later. Linde was a giant - it was understandable that they not have anything capable of accommodating her on hand. In fact, judging from the talk she'd heard about the school, it was uncommon for a humanoid familiar to be summoned at all - so it was forgivable for Louise who had only been expected a common animal to have only prepared a pile of hay. But, regardless, there was surely some sort of arrangement that could be made.

Linde could sleep, after all. She had the right to enjoy that slumber as much as she could in turn.

"Uhm… did you need anything, Miss Pryderi?" Siesta questioned, somewhat uncomfortably. With a start, Nao realized she had been staring intensely at Linde's sleeping form for some time now… and Siesta was standing next to the prone giantess, so…

"No, no. Pardon me, I lost myself for a moment there..." Tearing her gaze away from Linde, Nao spotted the large basket Siesta was carrying, "Well… actually…"

**.XXX.**

Louise stood mouth agape staring at the insanity in front of her.

"Hello Louise, are you having a good morning?" Nao smiled and set the large pot she had just finished cleaning onto the stove and nodded to one of the cooks who rapidly began adding the ingredients for a simple custard. Nao stepped away from the stove towards the still gaping Louise and cleaned her hands off on a nearby rag. "Louise?" Nao's smile faded slightly as she looked at the girl in concern.

"Good morning Nao." Linde called as she stepped into the kitchen around a still comatose Louise.

"Linde, it has been a good morning. They let me help make breakfast!" Nao clapped her hands together in glee and her smile blazing to life again.

"I didn't know you could cook." Linde said with a pleasant grin as Nao motioned to a table in the corner of the busy kitchen.

"I haven't been able to do things like this is so long, its nice to finally get a chance again." Nao said as she looked out at the busy kitchen staff, occasionally returning a wave of appreciation from them.

Linde made to sit down before spying her broken master still standing across the room. With a roll of the eyes the giant quickly stepped across the space and lifted the little mage up before returning and propping her up in a chair before taking a seat next to Nao. "Now where were we?" Linde asked as Nao covered her bemused expression with a demure hand.

"Good morning Noble Lady! Will you and your friends be dining with us this morning?" A man walked up the the table in a chef's uniform. Linde could almost mistake him as a giant if he only were actually tall enough. "Ah, I see your giant friend is joining us this morning, I cannot thank you enough for helping young Siesta yesterday."

"Ah, I didn't really," The giantess responded bashfully, one hand twirling her hair nervously.

"Yes thank you Mr. Marteau, If you don't mind we would like to have some breakfast please." Nao said after Linde had finished speaking.

"Ah! It would be our pleasure to serve a Noble Lady such as yourself and your friends, I will return in a moment with something!" Marteau energetically roared out before vanishing into the controlled chaos of the busy kitchen.

Nao was about to return to speaking with Linde when a loud thump rang out from across the table. The two older women curiously looked across at the suddenly angry pinkette across from them.

"Miss. Pryderi, why would you lower yourself to working in the kitchen like a commoner? It is unbecoming of a noble such as yourself!" Louise nearly shouted from across the table.

"Oh, I couldn't help it, I missed being able to do simple things." Nao replied with an unflinching serene expression.

"Missed?" A familiar, unwelcome voice cut in, prompting Louise to frown intensely, forgetting what she had been about to say in favor of her agitation.

Unaware or deliberately ignorant of Louise's displeasure, Nao answered the question as pleasantly as any other, "I haven't had the opportunity to use my hands for anything since I was a child." She paused, turning to face the newcomers - a certain red-haired germanian - who had come to stand behind them with a girl neither Linde nor Nao had met yet beside her, "How are you this morning, Miss Zerbst?"

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you for asking," Kirche answered pleasantly as she pulled up a seat for herself and the small blue haired girl at the little table. "Such courteous behavior, you should listen to your tutor Louise, you might learn something."

"I'm well aware of proper etiquette, _**Zerbst**_," Louise ground out, emphasizing Kirche's last name as if it were the most vile of curses, "unlike some individuals who freely interject themselves into others' business without care."

Before Kirche could make a retort Marteau arrived with three plates of the same food that was being served to the students out in the dining hall. Noticing the extra company he quickly promised to return with more before ducking away again. Linde sighed, content with a... small cup of tea that had been delivered to the table and attempted to tune the fighting out as she ate the finely made meal.

**.XXX.**

It was not long after Kirche had arrived that Louise realized the time for classes was drawing near and she hastily exited the kitchens, pulling on Linde's arm insistently until the giant reluctantly followed along, leaving Kirche to stare in amusement as Nao thanked the staff for their efforts and trailed after the odd pair. Gasping for breath, Louise came upon her class' door and, after taking a moment to recompose herself, opened it. To her relief, the room was mostly empty at the moment - only Tabitha (who had somehow beat her here) was present, reading in her usual seat. Letting out a sigh, she lead a bewildered Linde into the room and took her seat toward the front. Tabitha gave the pair a cursory glance as they entered, but soon returned to her book. Louise paid her little mind regardless. Tabitha was quiet, and didn't mock her like all the others did. Aside from her near-constant presence by Kirche's side, Louise had nothing against her.

The sound of a hand tapping wood brought Louise's attention back to Linde, who was warily pressing her palm against the bench as if to test its strength. "What are you doing?" Louise asked, faintly irked at her familiar's odd behavior but mostly curious to find out its cause.

"Testing its integrity," The giantess responded, eyes focused, "it wasn't made with giants in mind. Some seats look sturdy, but past experience shows they still don't hold up under my weight. Even high quality furniture can break easily if it's not reinforced properly." She sighed, straightening up and stepping away from the bench to look at Louise properly, "It's really inconvenient, sometimes. Even if this _could_ hold me safely, I doubt there'd be enough room for me regardless."

Louise didn't have a proper answer to that, so she simply stared, askance, at her familiar.

Linde blushed slightly, "It's a habit. I'm used to checking the quality of items before-"

Whatever Linde had been about to say was interrupted as Professor Colbert entered the room, towing some sort of contraption on a cart behind him. The rest of the class flooded in behind him, obviously having been lingering in the hallways till the last possible second.

"Good afternoon class! I'm very excited about todays lesson, so why don't you all get settled down and prepare for a few notes." The balding man said as he turned to watch the class as they took their seats and pulled out parchment and quills.

In the row in front of Louise sat Guiche de Gramont, looking significantly worse for wear with bags under his eyes and a generally mussed appearance. Louise was surprised when Linde leaned forward and set the boy's wand on the corner of his desk without saying a word or taking the opportunity to get in any extra ribbing. The blond turned his tired eyes onto the giant before picking up his wand and returning his attention to the front of the class. Louise was about to say something to the fop but that was the moment Colbert began his lesson.

He spoke for nearly an hour about the strange device he had brought before the class before attempting a rather... underwhelming demonstration. Louise felt bad for the poor man, he had obviously worked hard on the... whatever, the snake in the box... thing. The rest of the student jeered and dismissed the device as useless. Just as Louise lost her patience and was about to stand up and defend him and his device when a soft voice from the back of the room somehow overpowered the collected students.

"I thought it was a very interesting demonstration and the device shows a lot of promise." Louise immediately recognised the voice of Miss Pryderi.

The students fell silent as Linde also stood and rapidly made her way to the cart that held the device. She examined it critically before passing a glance to Professor Colbert, "Can you make it smaller?" She asked seriously, with an odd sort of gleam in her eye. "Does it have to be a snake? Could it move clockwork? Maybe a wheel? It works by air displacement, right? Maybe something like a miniature sail."

"Oh, I see like a mill, if you take the force produced by the-" Colbert suddenly exploded into a tangle of complicated words and a flurry of parchment as he and Linde spoke, shooting weird ideas back and forth and babbling on about things Louise could understand the words for but couldn't see any way to fit them together. Nao took Linde's former seat on the stairs next to Louise and hid a wide grin behind her hand.

"What did you do?" Louise tiredly asked as she let herself flop onto the desk.

"I started a conversation." Nao replied simply.

"What is she doing?" Louise was startled as Guiche turned around in his seat towards Ms. Pryderi and herself. Louise blinked before turning her attention back to the odd pair next to the contraption. They argued about what sounded like percentages for a moment before shaking hands. Linde rapidly wrote something on a bit of parchment before the professor signed it and returned it. Linde had just pulled out the pouch that Louise had seen and transferred a large number of coins to a leather bag that had been filled with small tools beneath the cart.

Louise turned back to the blond boy with a slightly dazed expression on her face. "Umm... Making a deal." Louise finally

"Investing? In… the snake?" Another student asked, breaking the stunned silenced that had consumed the students while Colbert and Linde communed with one another.

"In the theory behind it," The giantess explained, returning the pouch to its place at her side and stepping away from Colbert's desk.

"Oh my goodness, the time seems to have gotten away from me. Umm, for your homework please write a one page essay on the uses of fire magic outside of combat. Due next week." The students looked at one another in confusion for a moment before snatching up their supplies and flooding out the door.

"It was nice doing business with you, Miss Linde. It is rare that someone shows such appreciation for my ideas..." Colbert said as he walked over to Louise's desk. Guiche watched silently before sighing and gathering his own things. Louise perked an eyebrow at the fop as he sulked out of the room. Turning from Guiche to Professor Colbert, Louise resisted the urge to bite her lip before glancing between Linde, who was still exchanging pleasantries with the professor, and Nao, who was… gone. Somehow. Again.

'_That settles it,'_ Louise thought, her resolve solidifying.

"Mr. Colbert," Louise spoke, just as Linde finished complimenting the professor on his creativity, "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but would you mind if we talked?" She glanced at Linde, "Alone?"

"Certainly Ms. Valliere, my office is always open to students. If I remember you used to visit me quite often in your first year to ask for help with your homework. Visit me any time after your classes." Colbert rambled on for a minute before wandering out of the door.

**.XXX.**

Siesta smiled at the pleasant company of Ms. Pryderi as they both sat around a pair of large tubs peeling potatoes. She had appeared at the door to the store room several minutes ago asking if she could help with the preparations for the evening meal. It was a bizarre thing for a noble to defend a mere commoner from another noble and even more strange for them to join in doing the kitchen work. The woman was kind - almost unbelievably so, in fact. Siesta really did want to believe that there really were people like Nao in the world but Louise's tutor seemed almost too perfect to be real. She was easy to admire and was quickly being placed on a pedestal by most of the staff.

"Siesta?"

"Yes, what can I do for you Ms. Pryderi?" Siesta shook herself out of her thoughts, several years worth of experience thankfully saving her from looking like she was spacing out in the middle of a task.

"Please just call me Nao." The woman adjusted one of her long white pigtails and tossed a peeled potato into a bucket.

"Umm, Thank you... Nao." Siesta smiled awkwardly, such a thing was very improper but she had asked for it so...

"So, tell me about yourself Siesta. Have you always lived near here?" Nao fiddled with her knife for a moment before starting on another spud.

Siesta couldn't help but admire how the woman was able to make even the pedestrian act of peeling potatoes look graceful. She even found herself unconsciously trying to mimic her posture and movements. "Um, no I come from a little village named Tarbes about three days ride towards La Rochelle." Siesta answered as she straightened her back a little and attempted to move her arms a little less rigidly while watching Nao carefully out of the corner of her eye. "I'm the eldest of eight siblings, I came to the academy so I could help support my family."

"Thats a wonderful thing to do. Having that many children in one home must be a handful." Nao giggled when Siesta nodded vigorously.

The pair giggled to one another for a few minutes before Siesta finally composed herself "It's not really that bad, my brother Julien is old enough to help and keep the young ones from driving my mother and father crazy."

"Oh and what-" Nao paused as a loud knocking rang out through the room. The supply room they were using was attached to the kitchens and empty of anyone but the two of them. So it was quite a surprise when a middle aged nobleman stepped into the room before either of them had a chance to get to their feet and answer the door. The man was tall with a thin brown mustache and thinning hair that only reinforced the sleazy look on his face. His clothes were made with the highest quality fabric and he carried an abbreviated staff in a holster on his lower back. All in all he was a typical specimen of Tristanian nobility.

"Siesta my dear!" The man stepped over to the maid and yanked her to feet, pulling her into his chest as his other arm wrapped around her back to grab a handful of her butt.

Siesta's face fell out of shock and adopted a blank expression as she looked away from the man at the floor. "Hello, Count Mott." She squirmed uncomfortably as he pressed his body as close to hers as he could manage.

Siesta glanced over to the other woman in an attempt to focus her attention on anything but the man. Nao looked very much like she always did, smiling with serene expression, possessing an aura of grace even when she was still. What Siesta missed was a tightening of the woman's eyes as she stared hard at the man that had swept her up in his arms.

"Ah, my lovely Siesta, I have good news! I have submitted the papers to Old Osmond that will leave you in my employ in a day or two! Isn't it wonderful?" The man, Count Mott called out loudly as he squeezed his handful.

Siesta squeaked before replying, "Yes, my lord," in a flat, almost lifeless, voice.

Nao's smile thinned as she stood, staff in hand, from her stool. Mott looked up from where he was about to begin lavishing unwanted 'attentions' on Siesta's neck.

"Oh? Who do we have here?" Mott scrutinized the stunning woman in front of him, eyes undressing her as they roamed over her body. "A new hire perhaps? I would know your name, servant."

Nao's eye twitched slightly as she walked towards the man. Anticipating something pleasant Mott gently pushed Siesta aside and ran his eyes over Nao one more time before noticing she had angled her staff so the end was near his feet. Before he could even open his mouth to ask what she was doing a wave of force made him stumble backwards out of the room and back into the kitchens. He tried to begin a shout of protest but Nao closed the door in his face and latched the bolt into place.

"I suggest you speak to the headmaster about this." Nao said as she simply turned around and went back to the stool to resume peeling the potatoes.

"Y-y-you shouldn't have done that Ms. Pryderi. As a commoner I have to follow the wishes of the nobility." Siesta said as she retook her seat opposite of Nao with a downtrodden expression.

"That's nonsense. You should not have to follow the orders of such a man. Also, please call me Nao." Nao dismissed the notion like such a thing was merely the rambling of a crazy person with a smile and a wave of her hand.

"N-Nao..." Siesta stuttered quietly trying to come up with an argument.

"Siesta, if it worries you please don't hesitate to come find me should that man ever approach you again... I would be more than happy to protect a friend from someone like that." Nao said with a serious expression that didn't take away from the concern in her voice or eyes.

Siesta was stunned by the ernest offer of friendship from the older woman. With a swallow to sooth her dry throat she nodded and quietly said. "I promise."

Nao smiled brightly and motioned to the stool across from her. Realizing she still had a task to finish Siesta quickly made her way over and resumed peeling. After a few moments of companionable silence between them Nao spoke up. "So... You were telling me about your brother..."

Eager to talk about something pleasant after what had just transpired, Siesta resumed her description of her family, home, and the mischief her siblings got up to.

**.XXX.**

Professor Jean Colbert mumbled slightly to himself as he tinkered away silently in his workshop. The giant woman, Linde, had given him such interesting ideas about where to take his device. The concepts she had helped in devising were exactly what he had needed to fuel his ideas and he could see his little device becoming something great. He eyed the bag full of gold that Linde had given him as an 'investment', seed money in exchange for a share of future profits. He had to admit that he hadn't put much thought into selling his device but the woman seemed to know exactly what she was doing. His thoughts trailed off as he heard a faint knocking on the door to his workshop and he quickly cleaned his hands and opened the large wooden door

"Oh hello Ms. Valliere." Colbert said with a smile. "Here already? What was it you needed help with, an assignment perhaps?"

"You should pay more attention professor, I was knocking for at least half of the hour!" Miss Valliere complained. Colbert was about to make a joke and apologise when the girl's face became serious and hesitant. "There was something I needed to speak with you about, it's my familiar." Louise said, nervously checking the hallway for anyone who might be listening in.

"Oh? Yes I believe you did have quite the unique summon in Ms. Linde. Tell me, have there been any problems?" Colbert stood aside from his door and invited Louise into his workshop with a motion of his arm.

"There has been a strange... development." Louise said as she took a seat at the table she usually used when she came here to do class work.

The professor took a seat on the other side if the table, pulling a stool from a nearby workbench as he usually did. "It is unsurprising that something would come up, I am happy you came to me quickly rather than wait until it became more serious," Colbert said as he settled into his seat. "Now what seems to be the matter with Ms. Linde?"

"Well..." Louise struggled to begin speaking for a moment. "It is not so much a problem with my familiar as it is with something strange that happened."

Colbert listened attentively as Louise began her story, citing how she was trying to communicate with her familiar (unsuccessfully) when a strange woman appeared in her room and introduced herself as 'Nao,' close friend of Linde', upon introduction. This claim, Louise assured him, seemed valid as the two of them were quite comfortable around one another and, it seemed, Linde was rather protective of Miss Pryderi, in fact. The woman claimed that she had simply used the door to enter the room and that Louise had been too preoccupied to notice her - plausible, the girl admitted begrudgingly, but not as likely as it had seemed when the woman had promptly dismissed Louise's presence and… vanished. Into thin air. Colbert raised an eyebrow as he cycled through the possibilities that were running loose in his mind.

Louise didn't notice Colbert's intrigued expression and continued her recount. The woman had returned quickly - from thin air, again - citing that 'the soul stream here' was odd. Or something to that effect - Louise was too busy gaping at the feat she'd just witnessed to reliably recollect what had been said. After that incident, Miss Pryderi seemed intent on lingering. It seemed she was just as protective as Linde as the giantess was of her, as well, for she frequently lectured Louise on the way she treated her familiar and expressed concern over her well being - as if Louise would do anything to jeopardize her health! The professor 'hmmed' as tried to connect the dots. Later, when the three of them had left for breakfast the next day, Louise had asked about Miss Pryderi's family, concerned that Linde was a favored retainer of theirs - which, Colbert agreed, could cause some severe issues to be raised - only to receive little in response save for Miss Pryderi's full name. Any further discussion at that time was interrupted when Linde had suddenly left the table and, before Louise could blink, Nao was on the other side of the field and had broken Guiche's wrist with her staff in defense of a member of the serving staff.

Perhaps more startlingly, though, she healed the wound moments later after extracting an apology. Fully and painlessly with a wave of her staff. No incantation. Colbert's eyes narrowed slightly as the girl relayed this information. A square class healing spell with no incantation and no reagents? Such a thing had only ever been possible with exceedingly powerful magical artifacts and such artifacts were incredibly rare... and well accounted for. As of the moment, the woman seemed content to linger about helping the serving staff and monitoring Linde's health under the guise of Louise's tutor - an excuse that had been presented when Kirche (and here Colbert winced at the venom used to say the Germanian's name) had pressed Louise for answers she couldn't give regarding Miss Pryderi's reasons for being here.

When the young Valliere's explanation was finally done Colbert gazed across the table with a pensive, concerned look on his face. Unless her 'tutor' possessed several different magical artifacts that, last he knew, were in possession of several royal families across Halkegenia, he didn't see a way for the feats that were mentioned to be possible. Louise fidgeted nervously as his gaze hadn't wavered for several long moments, but Colbert was too deep in thought to notice. There wasn't any other explanation he could think of for the strange woman's powers that wasn't horribly far fetched but surely if the artifacts in question had been pilfered word would have spread by now... His thoughts fell to the woman who had stood at the back of his classroom, she certainly hadn't been laden with the many myriad of artifacts that would have been required to accomplish the things Louise had claimed.

erhaps the rings of wind or water could account for some of the things, he had heard they were supposed to posses some sort of power but he wasn't sure the powers of teleportation and healing were actually among them or not. The amount of strength it would have taken to hold a staff in such a grip as a man could break his hand upon it was frankly ridiculous to expect from a woman of Ms. Pryderi's stature. Then there was the 'Soul Stream', such a name concerned Colbert greatly. Was it mentioned for misdirection, to hide the woman's true origins by confusing the issue? No, if that was the case, surely there would have been more than a scattered mentioning and no actual account of the place. Someone strange had found their way into the academy it seemed...

"Umm, Professor?" The concerned voice of the young Valliere shook Colbert out of his musings.

"Oh, my apologies, I was lost in thought." Colbert waved a hand as if to banish the child's worries. "I wouldn't be too concerned Ms. Valliere. There are many explanations for the odd happenings and I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. I will make an inquiry into the matter and make certain to speak with Ms. Pryderi. For now you should return to class." Colbert smoothly lied and soothed the child's worries. Louise thanked him for his help and he escorted her to the door. As the large wooden door finally clicked closed the smile on his face slowly dropped and he shuffled back over to the disassembled machine that still lay on the cart. The situation had started to tease awake long buried instincts that had the ageing professor checking the shadowed corners of the room and listening for muffled footsteps. "Someone strange indeed..."

**.Ferghuswuzhere.**

**Author (Number-III):** Bizarrely, this has updated before the month has passed. And this chapter jumps around a lot. It was planned to be longer, but considering how many different events are already presented we decided to cut it short. And - Ferghus. That is a Ferghus break. It is the remains of a forlorn milletian's favorite weapon, shattered across the cosmos by the mighty swing of a hammered blacksmith's hand.

**Co-Author (Radon):** This chapter took so much work to get right. It was irritating that stupid annoying things kept getting in the way like jobs... or the need to consume food... or sleep... all of those things delayed and annoyed us while writing this... the bastards!


	3. The Princess

**The Starlit Void**

(Chapter III)

"Speaking"

'_Thought_'

'**Written'**

**Disclaimer:** Zero no Tsukaima / Familiar of Zero (Light Novel) was written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka, and published by Media Factory (Seven Seas Entertainment in the US and Canada.) The first anime was directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki with Studio J, and licensed by Geneon in the US and Canada... but as bluntly as possible in order to save time going through all other installments in the series – these authors are none of these people and have no legitimate claim to the series. Thus this work is strictly non-profit. Any use otherwise is not these authors' doing. Similarly, Mabinogi and all characters, races, concepts, ideas, and other material taken from it is the work and property of Nexon and BGEntertainment. These authors are likewise not affiliated with either group in any way or form and lays no claim to that property.

**.XXX.**

Louise had a problem. Well, she had several problems but the most immediate one was a lazy giant who was apparently content to snooze the day away... Sure the sun hadn't even come up yet but today was special! She had to get ready for the Familiar Exhibition! The Princess was even coming! She should have been practising for days and now the Exhibition was only a day away! Stupid maid coming up to her room to tell her about the Princess' visit! Stupid Familiar, sleeping the day away when she should be practising!

Letting out a groan of frustration, Louise very nearly decided to forego any effort at waking her familiar 'gently' and start kicking her until she awoke but having several hundred pounds of giant angry with you didn't sound like a good idea. Irritated, but without any method of release as no amount of shouting had woken Linde so far, Louise stomped the ground. It would have likely been an adorable sight due to her stature…

"Ah… Louise? What are you…"

...but the resultant screams of fury when Linde woke without a care - as if Louise hadn't just spent the past hour pushing, pulling, and shouting at her - could have been likened to a maddened banshee clawing its way out from the underworld to terrorize the living.

Linde tried to scramble to her feet to escape from the terrible creature that the tiny pinkette had changed into but was tackled from behind by four feet of furious teenager. The two combatants clawed, bit, rolled, and crawled their way into the center of the room. The battle seemed to go on forever until they both froze suddenly when a shaft of light from the open door washed over them to reveal a thoroughly amused Nao, hand held up to hide her grin.

"Well, at least you two are full of energy this morning." The woman walked over to the pair who looked up at her sheepishly. Louise in particular looked mortified, and so stunned that she hadn't yet spat out poor Linde's wrist.

"Siesta told me about the exhibition." Nao said as she sat down on the corner of Louise's bed, the two other girls only now climbing to their feet.

Recalling what had prompted her to wake up this early in the first place, Louise sprung to her feet trying her best (and failing) to drag the giantess up with her, "We have to practice!" She shouted, making Linde flinch from the sudden volume.

"Practice what?" Linde groaned.

"We have to come up with something impressive for you to do for the exhibition! The princess is going to be there!" Louise cried.

"You woke me up early and attacked me for a talent show?" Linde leveled a flat look at the girl before simply laying back down and closing her eyes.

"You can't go back to sleep!" Louise shouted while grabbing Linde's coat and trying to shake the giant awake. "You have to win!"

"Ugh, no gotta sleep." The giantess sleepily groaned while brushing Louise off of her.

"No! Your supposed to help me you big oaf! You're my familiar, you're supposed to do as I say!" Louise shouted as she jumped back onto the giant woman and tugged the giant's arm in an attempt to get her up... or just annoy her until she acquiesced.

Linde just rolled over and shrugged the tiny girl off of her and continued trying to return to sleep.

Louise stumbled backwards and her eyes fell to the floor as she slumped in defeat.

"Why is it so important to you?" Nao asked as she gently took Louise's hand and guided her over to sit next to the older woman.

Louise shot a tired, irritated look at her familiar before turning to Nao. "It's an important event meant to demonstrate the bond the mage has with their familiar and-"

Nao shook her head, "To _you_, Louise," She corrected softly, "Why is it important to _you?_"

"Wh-what other reason would I have?" Louise responded, caught by surprise. "To win the comp-"

The woman smiled gently. "Well, you want to win, but that's not your goal here, is it?" Nao's expression shifted just slightly as realization struck her, "In fact… you simply don't want to lose, right?"

Louise looked up at the older woman struggling to say something before returning her gaze to the floor and nodding sullenly.

"Hm, I thought so." Standing, Nao gently shook Linde's shoulder. The giantess stirred in moments, to Louise's bafflement. "If it means that much to you, we can at least try to help."

Linde gave both individuals a mildly irritated glare before sighing and turning to Louise. "Alright." She crossed her arms and shifted so that she was sitting with her back against the wall. "Explain this… exhibition you said? The rules. The workings. We can't help if we don't know what we're doing."

Louise spared another short annoyed glare at Linde before sighing and starting her explanation. "Well…" Recalling what she knew of the exhibition, she found a point to start. "It has to be the mage and the familiar by themselves - no one else can help…"

**.XXX.**

Professor Jean Colbert blinked in the bright light as he stood in front of the desk of the headmaster. He had been up late delving into the records and restricted books hidden in secret repositories beneath the school and the early morning sun shining in through the window was making his eyes water. "Headmaster Osmond, I have something important to speak with you about."

"Oh?" The ancient man behind the desk perked an eyebrow as he reached for a pipe on the corner of his desk... which was promptly levitated away by his lovely secretary Miss Longueville. The green haired woman didn't even look up from her paperwork when the old man mumbled complaints. "What is it you need to discus?" Osmond finally replied, returning his attention to the balding teacher waiting for him to have his moment.

"There have been a few developments with a student that I believe should be discussed in private." Colbert replied, eyeing the green haired woman out of the corner of his eye.

Osmond's face grew stern when he saw the steel that had suddenly reemerged from the retired soldier. He waved a hand at the woman who glanced between the two of them before dipping her head respectfully and walking out closing the door in her wake.

Colbert waited for a moment making sure that the woman wouldn't overhear the conversation. "Headmaster I assume you know of the giant summoned by Miss Valliere?"

"Oh yes, quite the unique flower. Her attire in particular is quite eye catching wouldn't you say?" Osmond trailed off stroking his beard. Colbert sighed and brought a hand to massage his forehead, the awkward moment had helped him relax a little but he wished Osmond had a way to make him relax without giving him a headache.

"I started looking into any material related to her kind I could find in the archives, as well as beings related to giants, and human or near human familiars in general." Colbert said, voice still grave but with less tension in his shoulders than before. Without another word the professor retrieved a book with a slip of paper hang from it bookmarking a certain page. The old mage glanced over the runes on the parchment and the passage in the book before regarding Colbert with a grave look on his face.

"Do you know what you're suggesting with this, Mr. Colbert?" The old man asked severely.

"I am certain sir, the runes are identical. What is stranger still is the woman that accompanies the Gandalfr." Colbert watched as Osmond ran through the ideas in his own mind, checking the drawing for any minute difference. Finding none Osmond slumped in his chair.

"Stranger than the return of the void and Gandalfr?... Ah perhaps you are referring to the Ms. Pryderi that has taken to doing the work of the maids?" Osmond said still slumped in his chair as if suddenly bone tired.

"Yes, at first I believed her to be some daughter of a far off noble family, come to retrieve a favored retainer. That was before I searched for any information into the Giantess Linde. There is only one mention of Giants in an old fairy tale, and even within the context of the tale itself they were mere rumor."

"Hmm, the young Valliere summoned a giantess and her lady right out of a fairy tale has she?" The old mage levitated his pipe from his secretaries desk back into his hand and took a few pensive puffs.

"I don't know Headmaster but the woman is no mere mage." Colbert said as he regained the tension in his shoulders. "According to Miss Valliere Miss Pryderi exhibits many powers that are supremely difficult for even a square class mage, abilities one would require powerful artifacts to possess. Yet she only carries a plain staff and isn't covered in magical trinkets."

"Hmm, I shall make inquiries to the status of the palace vaults but we have received no word of disturbance as of yet." Osmond closed his eyes and puffed on his pipe. "I will entrust the matter to you for now, find out all you can and report it to me. It is important that the Palace not know of this for now so secrecy is vital."

Colbert's first instinct was to argue for disclosure but with all of the unknowns suddenly circling he thought better and merely nodded his agreement.

Turning his chair to look out at the grounds Osmond puffed on his pipe. "If you see Miss Longueville, please send her back in if you don't mind professor.

Recognising the dismissal for what it was Colbert turned and exited the room leaving the old man to stew in the new mysteries.

**.XXX.**

"It is important the Palace not know of this for now so secrecy is vital." Miss Longueville quickly slipped away from the door she had been listening at and quickly made her way down the hallway. Her face was serious and she had to physically stop herself from biting her nails. What did this mean for her? A Valliere becoming a void mage, giants and mysterious women from fairy tales? Such things could send the world spiraling into war. As she reached her room she quickly closed and locked the door. In a secret compartment under her bed she retrieved a special ring and sat down at her writing desk. She wrote a letter bound for Albion and stamped the seal of the envelop with the ring.

She would need to contrive a reason to go to town and meet with her special contact. Wracking her brain for ideas, she stood and quickly hid the ring back within its hiding place, next to the old heavy black cloak before stashing the letter in her pockets and heading back towards the stairs that led to Osmond's office.

**.XXX.**

'_I said we would help…. yet here I am doing nothing while they discuss things without me.'_ Linde thought, somewhat sardonically as she fought off a yawn that would probably disrupt the conversation Louise and Nao were having. '_It's far too early for any sort of planning...'_

There was a knock on the door, then, but neither Louise nor Nao seemed to hear it. Casting an idle glance at the slowly brightening sky outside, Linde opened the door expecting to see Siesta or another member of the serving staff… and was greeted by the sight of a young blonde boy with a frilled shirt.

What was his name? Gouche? Giche? Guiche? Ah! That was it.

"What are you doing… and at this hour?" She asked tiredly.

The boy made a strained expression. Nao and Louise… somehow kept talking without noticing Guiche's presence. "Well…" He shifted uncomfortably before taking a breath and steeling himself, "Thank you… andI'msorry."

Linde stared intently at Guiche for several long, awkward moments before speaking, "Run that by me again?"

"I'm sorry." The boy apologized once more. "I… disgraced my family name with my actions, and it was the mercy you and Miss Pryderi exhibited that made me realize this fact so… Thank you. And… I'm sorry."

Linde blinked, genuinely surprised, before gathering herself and replying, "I gave you your rose back didn't I? Apology accepted."

"Yes, well… your discretion…" Guiche paused, made a decision, and tried again, "You could have humiliated me further, but didn't."

The giantess shrugged, "It's kind of important, right? What if you'd been called up in class? You wouldn't have been able to participate. It wouldn't be right to keep it from you at that point."

And that was when Louise noticed the blonde boy's presence in the doorway, "Guiche! What are you doing here? Get away from m- Linde!"

Before Guiche could respond, a new voice cut in. "Oh…" Kirche hovered into view over Guiche's shoulder, prompting him to jerk away with a mildly startled shriek. "Now what's going on _here_, I wonder?" She nearly purred, drawing out every word for maximum effect.

Guiche blanched and slid several inches away from the Germanian interloper. With a mechanical bow and another mumbled "Thank you," he turned and marched stiffly down the hallway. Kirche watched him go with an amused smile before turning to Linde with an eyebrow raised.

Linde shrugged, and Louise worked her way past the giantess. "And _you_? What are you doing here?!"

The Germanian smiled slyly, "The hallways is a public space, no? Why, Guiche was in here a moment ago and it's the girls' dorm!"

Louise grit her teeth as her face lit up red with embarrassment and anger. "Don't presume to lecture me about propriety Zerbst!"

"Propriety?" Kirche responded innocently. "Why, I didn't suggest anything of the sort. Unless you _were_ doing something… Why, with all three of you in there, and the shouting… oh _my._"

Both Louise and Linde's faces turned a little red and Kirche was subjected to a scowl from the shorter and a mortified expression from the taller.

"B-b-but thats NAO!" Linde stuttered. "YOU DON'T TALK ABOUT NAO LIKE THAT!" The giantess suddenly shouted poking Kirche with a large finger.

In the background, the mentioned woman hid a light blush with a hand while she chuckled to herself.

Kirche started to say something but was suddenly cut off by Linde and Louise slamming the door in her face.

"Didn't happen?" Linde suggested.

"Didn't happen." Louise agreed.

Nao continued laughing softly in the background.

**.XXX.**

Nao followed behind a slightly subdued Siesta down one of the empty corridors of the academy. Nao had gone to find the girl once Louise and Linde had settled in the courtyard to practise. Upon finding her Nao immediately volunteered to assist the staff in preparing for the exposition and the poor maid could not refuse.

"Excuse me, are you Nao Pryderi?" A voice suddenly halted the pair as a woman with green hair a little older than Siesta stepped out of an adjoining hallway.

"I am, and who might you be?" Nao answered with her signature smile not even missing a beat from the woman's sudden entrance.

The woman spared a moment to give Nao a looking over, noting her friendly attitude and harmless appearance. The woman certainly didn't look like she could casually toss around square class magic. "I am the Headmaster's secretary and assistant Miss Longueville. I had heard about your disciplining Guiche de Gramont and wanted to compliment you on a rather warranted punishment." Siesta looked nervously between the two women and tried to make herself invisible by standing straight in a small alcove as Nao and Miss Longueville spoke.

"He was only a little misguided, Miss Longueville; he just needed to be reminded of his manners." Nao replied and relaxed a little. Siesta followed suit, letting the tension drop from her shoulders as she returned to her place next to Nao.

"Oh, are you the girl Miss Pryderi was looking out for?" Longueville asked.

"Yes, ma'am I am Siesta of Tarbes." Siesta replied, still sounding strained.

Miss Longueville glanced over Siesta, smiled and nodded. "You are lucky to have someone like this looking out for you Siesta. Many aren't so lucky... Well I'm afraid I must return to my duties. It was nice meeting the both of you." She said as she turned to make her way back down the hallway.

"It was good meeting you too, Miss Longueville." Nao called before turning back to Siesta and gesturing with a hand. "Shall we?"

**.XXX.**

Linde stood amidst a sea of young humans with Louise perched on her shoulders looking over a string of carriages that had rolled up to the academy just a moment ago. The teachers had assembled all of the students in the academy to await the arrival of the princess of Tristain and her entourage almost half an hour ago, including those who had been spending a whole morning coming up with an act.

To put it simply Linde's legs were falling asleep... and she was uncomfortably dirty... and she smelled, a little...

"They're getting out!" Louise shouted, kicking her legs and pulling Linde's hair in excitement much to the giantess' annoyance. First out of the plain carriages to the front and rear were serious looking guards dressed in armor and carrying pikes, swords and muskets that lined up in a salute to the people in the regal white carriage. An old man in religious looking garb emerged first before stepping to the side and helping a beautiful young girl down the stairs. She was probably around the same age as most of the students with a purple bob of hair that made Linde feel like she was looking into a mirror from very far away. Linde couldn't see too many details from the back of the crowd but the girl almost looked like a younger, human, version of herself.

The girl waved to the crowd, which prompted a round of loud cheering. After a few moments the group walked over to the kneeling staff and spoke with the Headmaster for a moment before heading into the central tower of the academy.

"Well that was interesting." Linde said, only a little of it sarcasm. "The princess was younger than I thought she would be." Linde pulled Louise from her shoulders as she walked away from the still lingering crowd.

"Yeah..." Louise replied gazing off at the central tower, miles away from the here and now.

"You know her or something?" Linde asked. Louise was still lost in her own thoughts and it was obvious that this was far beyond the standard hero worship that most of the other students were displaying. The young girl took several minutes to return to her senses, time Linde was more than happy to give as she sat down on the soft, lush, lawn.

"We need to practice!" Louise shouted suddenly, finally snapping out of her daze. The pinkette grabbed Linde's hand and pulled.

"Okay, okay I'm coming!" Linde said as she stood, trying to ward off the suddenly energetic girl.

**.XXX.**

"UUUUGGGGHH!" Linde moaned as she flopped down onto Louise's bed causing the wooden frame to creek dangerously. "You're a slave driver." She muttered quietly as the pinkette in question sat down next to her and started rubbing the soreness out of her feet.

"It's your fault for being so slow." Louise whined as she worked a particularly tender place on her heel.

"Oh, it can't possibly be that bad. At least your work wasn't for nothing, you have an act now right?" Nao asked as she gently shut the door behind her and sat down in one of the chairs that sat around the small table.

The three girls collectively sighed. Linde stretched her sore muscles, the workout from earlier having tired her out. Louise stared contemplatively at the wall hoping that the act she devised would be enough to not embarrass her at least. Nao wrung her hands nervously, she was worried for her friend Siesta who had been morose for the entire day.

"I wasn't slow you just never liked anything." Linde mumbled into the pillow that she had commandeered. Louise frowned and elbowed the poor giantess in the side but was too tired to do anything more. Linde wordlessly groaned and rolled over trying her best to ignore the annoyance. Frustrated, Louise flopped backwards onto the giant's side and grumbled something about ungrateful familiars.

"You two look adorable." Nao giggled from the table. "Just like sisters." She said, clasping her hands together with a brilliant smile.

Louise and Linde Both lifted their heads and shot Nao a flat look before turning to regard each other for a moment. "Eck!" They both muttered before flopping back down into their former places like dead fish. Smiling indulgently, Nao left the two to their rest and vanished into The Soul Stream… moments before a knock sounded on the door.

It was tempting to ignore it - very tempting, in fact - but as likely as it was to be a servant or one of Louise's hecklers (a certain red-haired Germanian came to mind) it was just as likely to be a member of the staff…

...well… it _might_ be a member of the staff. Maybe. In which case Louise couldn't afford to ignore it.

Still, she was tired and didn't particularly want to move, so she prodded Linde several times, earning another tired groan. "The door." She stated, allowing her words to speak for themselves.

"Get it yourself." The tired giantess replied instantly.

Louise frowned, ready to give Linde a lecture on the duties of a familiar (again) only to be interrupted by another trio of knocks on the door. Prodding the giantess again more forcefully prompted Linde to clumsily swat the girl's small hands away with her arm.

More knocking.

Pushing Linde's shoulder once more out of belligerence, to no effect, Louise sighed tiredly and made her way to the door.

"Yes?" She asked, somewhat lethargically, as she pulled it open.

"It's been a while, Louise Francoise," the person on the other side said.

"Princess?!" The pinkette exclaimed in shock, prompting Linde to roll off the bed in surprise.

Smiling, the princess lowered her hood. "How many times have I asked you to call me by name, Louise? Are we not childhood friends? Do I need to make it into a royal order?" She asked, stepping past Louise and into the room. "'Thou shalt refer to thy princess as 'Henrietta' whence given the request!' She declared facetiously, a mischievous smile on her face.

"I-I could never…!" Louise started, turning as Henrietta entered the room to continue facing her.

"Then you would disobey your princess?" Henrietta asked, with a faux dangerous tone in her voice. "My, that simply will not do! To have my dear friend Louise brought in on charges, because she could not even bear to say my name~!" She placed a hand to her mouth, "Oh, how could I ever bear to see that happen?"

"I…" Louise stammered ineffectually, unable to come up with a proper response.

"You two seem really close." Linde observed blandly as she picked herself up off of the floor.

Henrietta spun in surprise. Then looked up. And up again until she met Linde's eyes. "Ah… Hello." She greeted, "I… didn't see you. My apologies. You are…?"

"It's… fine." Linde assured, not used to going unnoticed. It was kind of an odd feeling. Usually her height made her stand out easily and drew a lot of natural attention toward her, which was something of a small nuisance. Being overlooked, though it was likely because she'd fallen onto the floor, was… awkward. "I'm Linde. Louise over there summoned me the other day. I guess she was looking for an animal or something, and got me somehow? So here I am."

"Ah… so that makes you her… familiar then?" The princess' head tilted peculiarly before straightening as she gave a slight curtsy. "Well, I am Princess Henrietta de Tristain, it is nice to meet you, Linde."

"To you as well, umm Your Highness," Linde replied, shifting somewhat awkwardly.

"So…" Henrietta said, turning to Louise, "it seems you've summoned quite a unique familiar Louise."

"Eh heh heh... She is... umm, nice." Louise replied awkwardly. Nice wasn't the first word that came to mind regarding her opinion of Linde, but it wasn't the last either. So far, the giantess had been amicable for the most part if… obstinate. And stubborn. When she wanted to be, Linde was irritatingly unyielding. Case in point, her refusal to get up and answer the door… even though she was clearly awake, seeing as she was standing here now. Though, to be fair, most of Louise's frustration didn't stem from Linde.

It came from Nao, who was infuriatingly enigmatic.

"Ah? Well thank you for taking care of my friend then, Linde. It must have been difficult, I'm sure."

Linde shot Louise a nervous look which was returned with a glare that left her stomach feeling cold. "Ah ha ha, Not at all Your Highness she is the best summoner I've ever had!"

Henrietta giggled at the pair's antics before inclining her head slightly towards the giantess. "I will leave her safety in your hands then."

"Y-Yes Your Highness!" Linde said as she stiffly brought up her hand in what must have been the giant's version of a salute.

Henrietta nodded and turned back to her childhood friend. "Now, Louise tell me all about your time here." The princess took Louise's hand and guided her to sit next to her on the bed. The pair talked some time into the night and Linde couldn't help but smile at the two long separated friends finally being reunited... even if they did make her sit on the floor.

**.XXX.**

**Author's Note (Number III):** So apparently Nao is taking over the show, as it were. It might seem that way right now, but we'll be splitting the time more evenly in the long run. As Radon said below. I don't really have much else to say. This chapter is a bit shorter than was originally intended.

**Co-Author's Note (Radon): **For all of you concerned about OP characters or certain characters not getting their appropriate time in the spot light... don't worry, We have a PLAN!

[_It involves __**cookies**__]_

(It actually does... which is the funny thing._)_


	4. Of Giants and Golems

**The Starlit Void**

(Chapter Four)

"Speaking"

'_Thought_'

'**Written'**

**Disclaimer:** Zero no Tsukaima / Familiar of Zero (Light Novel) was written by Noboru Yamaguchi, illustrated by Eiji Usatsuka, and published by Media Factory (Seven Seas Entertainment in the US and Canada.) The first anime was directed by Yoshiaki Iwasaki with Studio J, and licensed by Geneon in the US and Canada... but as bluntly as possible in order to save time going through all other installments in the series – these authors are none of these people and have no legitimate claim to the series. Thus this work is strictly non-profit. Any use otherwise is not these authors' doing. Similarly, Mabinogi and all characters, races, concepts, ideas, and other material taken from it is the work and property of Nexon and BGEntertainment. These authors are likewise not affiliated with either group in any way or form and lay no claim to that property.

**.XXX.**

Linde raised her arms high into the air, hands grazing the top of the stone arch that held the door to the dormitories. The evening air was cool and pleasant and Linde smiled as she listened to the humming of the insects. She had left Louise and Princess Henrietta alone to catch up some time ago and she wondered just how long they would stay up chatting as she set off across the grassy courtyard with no clear destination in mind.

Linde wondered briefly if Siesta was still awake but opted out of disturbing her if she was. She paused as she made her way across the courtyard to look up at Eweca and Ladeca, or whatever the moons here were called and couldn't help but pick out the differences she hadn't noticed earlier. The pink moon here was almost glowing with due to its smooth and crater free surface, a big difference from the beaten and battered Eweca.

The slight sound of disturbed grass pulled Linde's attention away from the sky to see a green haired woman closing the door of the main tower behind her. The woman glanced up and looked slightly surprised by the ten foot giant standing out on the lawn.

"It's a beautiful evening." The woman said as she walked over to stand in front of Linde.

"It is, the moons are much brighter here then where I come from." Linde replied returning her gaze to the pair of celestial bodies for a moment. "I haven't caught your name, I'm Linde Miss...?"

"Ah, forgive me, I'm Miss Longueville the secretary for the headmaster. "You're the familiar of Louise de la Valliere correct?"

"That's what they tell me." Linde said turning to smile at the woman.

"I met your companion yesterday, Nao Pryderi right? She was interesting to talk to."

"Interesting? I've never heard Nao talk very much, really, so I can't imagine what the conversation was like." Linde mused thoughtfully, "She usually seems so busy with the Milletians."

"Milletians?" Longueville asked.

"Ah…" Linde didn't want to answer that. It was a difficult question. What were Milletians? It's not like she could say, 'We're dead people reincarnated as the closest thing to a demi-god our world has ever born witness to.' The reaction to that would be simply _wonderful._ "It's the name of my people. Our people."

"You mean the giants?" The secretary wondered aloud.

It didn't take much effort for Linde to come up with a response now that she had resolved to portray them this way, "Some of us, yes. It would be more accurate to call us an ethnic group than an actual race."

"So not a race then? Are there humans where you come from?" Longueville asked, leaning forward a bit in interest.

"Yes." Linde replied immediately, "They don't travel to Vale often, but we still see them. Most Milletians are human, actually."

"And what does Nao do that would keep her so busy with all the Milletians?" Longueville's gaze was oddly intense.

"She takes care of us." Linde responded simply, eyes sharpening into daggers the moment Nao's name was mentioned. "She heals us when we're injured. She guides us when we're lost. She sends us gifts to remind us that we're not alone, sometimes. That's why she's here, actually. I went missing, and Nao found me."

Longueville took a step back and inclined her head slightly. "Ah, I did not mean to offend you. In any case it has been pleasant to talk with you Linde the Giant, I hope you sleep well."

"You as well, Miss Longueville." Linde returned curtly, arms folded. Linde watched the woman walk away for a while before turning to see the lights in Louise's room were out. Convinced that meant it was fine to head to bed she turned to walk back to the dormitories.

**.XXX.**

Later that night a shadow crept through the hallways of the Tristain of Magic. The specter dodged maids, half asleep teachers and the occasional familiar as it made its way to the large door which guarded the school's vault. Within was the prize it sought - a magical staff said to be able to magnify destructive spells. Such a thing was well worth the risk of infiltrating the school. It regarded the door, pulling out a wand to gently probe the spells protecting it, square class magic. It would not yield to the shadow's usual method of breaking through the barriers that protected the riches coveted by many.

With an almost inaudible growl of frustration the shadow slipped out through a window and vanished into the night. It would just have to wait until tomorrow and try something a little more _direct_.

**.XXX.**

The following day found Louise and Linde standing nervously behind the stage. For once the other students were being quiet. Whether that was because they did not want to shame themselves in front of the Princess or because they were scared of Linde, Louise had no idea. She didn't particularly care either as she was too busy with her own thoughts to even register their uncharacteristic silence.

What if Linde messed up? What if she wasn't impressive enough? What if her humanoid nature disqualified her as a participant? What if Louise's own lack of direct involvement disqualified them? What if Linde backed out at the last moment? What if…?

Like that. Her thoughts continued repeating themselves in a merciless cycle of tense worry that showed no hope of reaching a resolution any time soon. Students were called to step onto stage, performed, and stepped off to join the crowd. One after another, they trickled out of view until only a few were left. So distracted was Louise that she noticed none of the above until Linde tapped her shoulder.

"...de la Valliere and her familiar, Linde, a giantess." A professor's voice announced.

"It's time." Linde offered, gently pushing Louise - who had frozen on the spot - forward.

Collecting herself and trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat, Louise stepped onto the stage with her familiar behind her, absently noting that she was inside Linde's shadow and stepping surreptitiously to the side.

"For this demonstration," Louise explained, doing her best to keep her voice level, "my familiar will be performing a display of strength." As she was talking, Linde herself was doing her best to ignore the weight of several dozen - or more - eyes on her, absorbing their stares with the experience of one who traveled into human lands often enough to realize that giants were still something of a spectacle, even now, to those that were aware of them.

When Louise finished and stepped aside, Linde took that as her cue and took a brief bow before kneeling, and then pushing herself up onto her hands. Supporting the entirety of her weight with her hands, and well aware of it, Linde began a series of pushups. After it was established these were no trouble for her, she began doing them one handed while holding the other to the side. Then she started alternating. For the finale, she pushed off mightily enough to propel herself into the air and, with a bit of adjustment, landed on her feet behind where she had previously been 'standing.'

The audience was quiet for several moments, with several members muttering softly to one another. Eventually, someone coughed and they began to applaud politely - if not enthusiastically. Somewhat put off - it had taken a _lot_ of effort to pull that off - Linde was nevertheless happy to note several expressions of astonishment among those present who were aware enough of human limitations to realize how difficult what she'd just done truly was.

Louise, it seemed, either did not notice these individuals or did not care, however, and upon leaving the stage she departed from the fair with as much dignity as she could muster on such short notice. Sighing in exasperation, Linde followed after her.

**.XXX.**

Catching up to Louise, Linde snatched the girl up by the back of her shirt. The pinkette kicked and yelled for several moments before finally tiring herself out and hanging limply from Linde's grip. "You done?" Linde asked blandly.

"Shut _**up**_! They hated it!" Louise shouted before crossing her arms and generally taking on the appearance of a scolded kitten.

"They were confused. They didn't hate it. I saw several that were impressed." Linde tried to keep the smile off her face. "And besides we did better than Guiche. I saw him posing with his mole on the way out."

Louise's face softened a little. "Really?" She asked.

"Yeah, I saw a bunch of the guards and a couple of teachers were really impressed." Linde said trying to mollify the still fuming, and airborne, girl.

"No, did Guiche really just pose with his mole?" Louise tried to spin herself so she could look over at the still in progress exhibition.

Linde nodded solemnly. "On a bed of roses."

"You're right, that makes me feel so much better…" Louise said as Linde finally returned her to the ground. She might have been about to say more when a large cheer came from the crowd as Tabitha and Sylphid performed an airshow… followed by an absolutely _deafening_ explosion. And it wasn't Louise's fault.

Louise and Linde shared a glance before Linde pointed a finger at Louise with a questioning look on her face.

"IT WASN'T ME!" Louise shouted and kicked the Giantess in the shin.

Linde rubbed her aching leg vigorously before turning around and searching for the source of the loud bang. She didn't have to look far. Just out of view of the exhibition, an enormous golem had formed and struck the tower. It removed its hand from the wall to reveal it was mostly unscathed, only to strike again.

Linde felt a bolt of panic shoot down her spine like a misfired lightning spell. She _hated_ fighting golems. They were all kinds of dangerous and she only ever managed to win when she kept the things off balance. She looked back toward the crowd of the exhibition and hoped she would see teachers or the numerous guards scrambling to fight the thing but instead they were scrambling to get the princess and students out of harms way. Deciding that was as good a plan as any, Linde turned to grab Louise and run for cover when the sound of a second punch was echoed by another much louder blast. Groaning to herself Linde spotted the tiny mage several yards away pointing her wand defiantly at the giant walking dirt pile.

A hole big enough for a human to fit through had been blown into the side of the tower and a dark figure that had been crouched on the Golem's shoulder was keen to take advantage of it. Linde rushed forward and tried to grab Louise who was starting a chant for another attack. The figure reemerged from the tower holding a long wooden box just as Linde reached Louise and snatched her up to make a run for cover.

"What are you doing!? I'm winning!" Louise shouted from her place tucked under the giantess' arm.

"No, you're blowing holes in everything but the golem!" Linde replied as she ran.

The pair heard a faint laughter from the dark shape on the golem's shoulder and a shadow suddenly overtook them, fearing what was coming Linde threw Louise as far off to the side as she could manage before the world vanished in a sudden blast of pain.

**.XXX.**

The Soul Stream was white. And bright. An endless bleached expanse of incandescent nothingness stretched as far as Nao could see in any direction. The entire world was alabaster white, broken only by the marble of a round platform in what Nao preferred to think of as the approximate center of this place. Though, of course, to say it had consistent enough dimensions to have a 'center' would be somewhat inaccurate… but she was digressing.

The Soul Stream was, to all appearances, exactly the same as it was when she last visited only…

There were no owls orbiting overhead and occasionally landing for a treat or to offer a gesture of affection. There were no Milletians sporadically appearing and disappearing for various reasons. No letters. No _shadows._ No _anything_ The presence of her Milletians could still be felt, but they seemed so far away that Nao could almost miss them.

Except one.

In fact, Linde was even more present than she should be. Rather than the others being distant in comparison, it was like…

Oh. What in this world could have… how did her Milletians manage to get _into_ these situations?

Concerned, though she knew she needn't have been, Nao disappeared from the soul stream.

**.XXX.**

When Linde tossed Louise to the side, the short-tempered Valliere already had several choice words forming regarding the careless treatment.

Those words died before they could leave her throat when the world was overwritten by an enormous crash. For a moment, she thought she had gone blind. All sense of self awareness was obliterated by the sound of the golem's titanic fist striking the ground. Nothing could be heard over it. And through the fog of upturned earth, nothing could be seen either. For a brief moment, Louise truly thought herself dead.

Then she flinched, her side was racked with pain from where she had struck the ground, and she realized that she was alive.

The earthen fog fell back to the ground as quickly as it had soared into the air, covering everything in a fine layer of powdered earth. Shakily raising herself to her feet, Louise saw what had happened. An enormous arm was embedded into the ground several feet away, surrounded by broken shards of earth. Staring numbly at the appendage, Louise tried to process the chain that events had followed. They were running. A shadow covered them, and Linde tossed her to the side… Didn't that mean…? No, she could have gotten out of the way as well, right?

While Louise was trying to forestall the inevitable conclusion to her thoughts, the golem shifted and lifted its arm from the ground, several random pieces of debris falling off of it as it rose. It left behind a sizable crater, though it was not so deep that Louise could not see Linde's immense form laying prone, dwarfed by the sheer scope of the indentation she lay within.

The enormous sword she had strapped across her back had broken in half, and blood was leaking out of her back.

'_What…?'_

Louise couldn't think much more; what she was seeing was something that shouldn't have happened. Linde was more than a strong woman - she was a giantess. She was immensely strong, Louise knew, even if Linde herself tried her best not to show it. The odds of seeing anything actually break the hardy woman were so astronomically small that it was the next closest thing to impossible. What was a golem doing here, anyway?

While Louise was staring in mute shock, that golem dissolved into a large mound of earth as its owner seemingly disappeared into the ground.

Consumed by the sight in front of her, Louise did not notice. Instead, she strode tentatively forward until she was at Linde's side. The wound was much worse now that she looked at it closer. Fragments of the sword had embedded themselves all across the giantess' back, mauling the colorful shirt she wore and likely the skin beneath. It was a wound that would leave scars even with immediate healing. It was horrific, really. Blood was everywhere, and the bits of shattered metal distributed about it caught the light eerily and drew attention to themselves.

'_Though, frankly, she should have been crushed into paste,'_ some vindictive part of Louise's mind noted clinically.

This wasn't supposed to happen. It couldn't have happened. Linde was hurt, surely but… her body was still in tact. She wasn't… spread across the crater. So…

"H-hey!" Louise spoke shakily, "What was that? You… you just threw me! You couldn't dodge? Or block? Or… or do anything?" Those weren't tears gathering in her eyes. She was angry, so her eyes were burning. That was all. "You're a giant, right? You're strong! Something so small as this… why don't you just stand up already?!"

Intellectually, Louise was aware that moving an injured person directly could agitate their wound but she didn't register that thought. Linde was a giant anyway, so she was strong enough to endure. She had to be, because not only was she a giant, she was Louise's familiar. She couldn't be hurt too badly, because she was still here. She couldn't be… dead. Not so soon.

Or such was the logic going through Louise's mind as she shook the unconscious giantess' shoulder furiously, shouting in anger. Anger, not sadness or despair. Or fear. Anger. Because Louise was a person with a short temper, she knew. It was easy for her to be angry. And better than the alternatives. If she wasn't angry, that could only mean that there was something to be sad about. Something to be afraid of.

And since Linde was fine, that wasn't the case. Right?

"This… this isn't funny, you lazy familiar!" She shouted, eyes burning with 'anger.' "Get up! Get up! You're… you're a disgrace if you… Get up! Everyone's watching!"

No one was. They were too busy evacuating and hiding in case the golem turned its attention to them. But Louise was too busy trying to wake up her lazy familiar to care. It was just like her to take a nap right now. It's what she had always done whenever Louise needed her.

She didn't notice the gentle hand touching her shoulder either.

She _did_ notice the aura of light that suddenly engulfed Linde's body.

Before her eyes, blood seeped back into wounds that closed themselves. The metal fragments slid out of ravaged skin like water and the shredded remains of the shirt stretched themselves back together into a single, unblemished whole. Before she knew it, it was as if Linde had never been injured at all… if one ignored the myriad fragments of her broken sword. This… this went beyond a healing spell, no matter how powerful.

For a brief moment, the world was silent as Louise stared in awe at what had just transpired, blinking as if it would assure her of the veracity of what had just occurred.

Then Linde shifted, her hands rotating so that the palms rested against the earth. An instant later and she was on her feet, whirling in place while drawing her sword with one hand… only to stare at the ruined hilt with an expression somewhere between amusement and resignation as she realized the golem had disappeared.

"I paid thirty-thousand gold for this…" She murmured sorrowfully.

"Swords can be replaced," Nao's voice came, reassuring. "And you're hardly defenseless without one."

The giantess turned an unamused look to the kind, terrifyingly skilled healer, "Thirty. Thousand. Gold. Nao… that's… more or less four times my current wallet, taking my transaction with that inventive professor into account."

"Gold can be replaced too," The woman responded serenely, "you _are_ a skilled merchant, right? I can repair your wardrobe, but weaponsmithing isn't something I've ever practiced. You'll have to adapt."

Linde groaned in frustration, dropping the ruined sword in favor of cradling her head with her palms, "I hate golems. _So much._"

Louise, meanwhile, was steaming with a complex mix of relief, confusion, and fury. Mostly fury.

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-ou!"

The giantess turned her attention to the fuming pinkette and cringed. This wasn't going to end well...

"What is wrong with you!?" Hot tears rolled down the girl's face as she shouted, cheeks red with emotion, "You… you were dead just now! You were hit by a golem! It smashed you into the ground! And you weren't moving, and there was blood everywhere, and now all of a sudden you're fine… and you're worrying about replacing your sword?! That's, that's… do you have any idea…?!" She trailed off, unable to continue speaking coherently.

"Ah, well..." Linde looked to Nao helplessly, unsure of how to explain this situation to Louise.

"Louise!" It was a voice Linde had only heard once before, last night, "Louise Francoise, are you alright?" Princess Henrietta called as she rushed across the lawn with her dress hiked up so she could run without tripping. A whole squad of grumbling knights and one particularly angry blonde followed shortly behind repeatedly calling for the princess to do everything from slow down so she doesn't sprain an ankle to fleeing to the carriages for extraction to the capitol.

"Princess?" Louise in surprise, steam venting out as she turned to face Henrietta. "Ah… yes. I'm fine. Linde got me out of harm's way..."

Instead of responding, Henrietta cast some sort of spell as she came to a stop nearby, "Well, your side is quite bruised but…" A murmured incantation conjured some water seemingly out of thin air, which was quickly applied to a protesting Louise's side. After several moments it was removed, and Louise couldn't deny that the pain from the blow she'd taken had eased greatly. "There. What about you Miss Linde?" She continued, turning to face the giantess.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm perfectly alright." Linde assured, waving her hands. The princess cast the spell regardless, but it only affirmed Linde's claim.

"So it seems," She murmured thoughtfully, eyes drifting speculatively to the ruins of Linde's sword strewn about the ground.

"The golem shattered it," Linde said by way of explanation, "I'm made of sterner stuff."

"Sterner than steel?" The princess mused, "Well, you must be quite sturdy indeed. That was an impressive demonstration earlier, by the way; it's a pity so few appreciated it. You have my thanks for lending that strength to Louise."

Before Linde could respond a slim hand reached out to gently grasp the princess' shoulder. "Princess we shouldn't linger here." Came the urgent voice of the armed blonde woman standing slightly behind Henrietta.

"Of course." Henrietta nodded to the woman. "If everything is fine then I must take my leave Louise." She said smiling apologetically at her childhood friend.

Louise nodded and tried to smile despite her shivering and tear streaked face. "We're fine, thank you for your help Princess." She bowed deeply before looking up with a sterner expression and fire in her eyes. "Don't worry, I will apprehend the scoundrel who would dare to do this!"

"Louise..." Henrietta began before she was nudged insistently by the blonde woman. "Oh fine!" Henrietta tsk'd as she allowed herself to be led away. "Be safe Louise!" She called back with a small wave.

"I will Princess! You can count on me!" Louise called back, completely missing Henrietta's worried face as she climbed into her coach.

**.XXX.**

Linde barely took notice when the door to Louise's room slammed shut. Nao, Louise, and Linde had finally pulled themselves from the mire of probing questions from guards and over excited teachers to finally take refuge in the dorm room just as the sun was setting. Linde's attention was focused on the fragments of her sword she was able to recover from the ground as well as shaken out of her clothes. The blade had served her well for years but it seemed as though the poor blade had seen its last day. She was so engrossed in reminiscing over the fragments she completely missed the fuming little Mage that stomped up behind her.

"No more lies!" Louise suddenly shouted from directly behind the giantess making Linde jump in surprise. "I want to know what the two of you are! Right now!" Louise had crawled into Linde's lap as the giantess sat there stunned and tried her hardest to shake the much larger woman by the collar of her shirt. Of course Linde being so much larger and impossible to budge it instead gave the impression Louise was clinging to her out of desperation.

"I don't know what-" Linde started before Nao shook her head. The pair shared a look before Nao made an encouraging gesture with her hand. Linde shot her a pleading look but Nao just smiled and giggled quietly.

"You were dead I saw it!" Louise continued, ignorant of their silent conversation. "You were down there and there was so much blood and-" The girl broke down into a yammering mess as her grip on Linde's shirt only tightened.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm fine." Linde said, prying Louise's hand from her shirt to hold it firmly in hers. "Nothing will ever be able to hurt me, ok?"

"But WHY!? I don't understand it!" Louise shouted tears threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Ok, but you can't tell everyone..." Linde waited for Louise to nod in agreement. "It's because I am what's called a Millettian Louise." Linde answered. "Millettians are immortal. We can never die."

"What?" Louise stared up at Linde. "That's impossible; even spirits can be killed! Besides you were dead! I saw it!" Her gaze shifted to Nao, who sat serenely as she usually did in a chair at the small table, but Nao only nodded as if to confirm Linde's words. The sad look that appeared in Nao's eyes made the simple statement all the more concrete.

"When a person dies, if their soul is good and pure it sometimes makes its way to Erinn where they are reborn as a Millettian. Millettians were created by the gods to battle a terrible threat to Erinn called the Fomor. The best way to make sure the Millettians wouldn't be defeated by the Fomor was to make sure that, no matter what happened, the Millettians would never be able to die." Linde explained to a captivated Louise.

"But if that's what you are... Then what is she?" Louise pointed to Nao who was examining the fine wooden grain of the table.

Linde turned to look at Nao for a moment, and receiving no indication one way or the other decided it wouldn't hurt to tell Louise at least what she knew. "Louise, I would like to introduce you Nao... Mother of the Milletians."

Nao blushed lightly, but otherwise gave no reaction as Louise put two and two together and began sputtering. "T-that would make you-!" She pointed a trembling finger at the woman sitting calmly at her table. It was an impossible conclusion to reach, but it fit far too well with what Louise had witnessed so far. For a human, the sorts of miraculous spellwork Nao could weave with a flick of her staff was utterly unreal and outside of reach. But… Well, at the least, Nao was some sort of spirit. There was _something_ supernatural about her. She wasn't necessarily a goddess, even if she blessed these… Milletians… in such a manner. Right?

Louise's faith warred with her reason while the source of this conflict daintily sipped her tea, unawares.

"A-are you trying to tell me she's a goddess?!" Louise accused, somewhat irrationally as she knew very well that was exactly what Linde was trying to say.

"Nothing so grand," Nao answered placidly, taking Louise's raised voice in stride, "I could not reasonably be compared with the likes of Neamhain or Morrighan."

"I know little of Morrighan or Neamhain, as those are human deities, but you brought me back to life." Linde stated bluntly, refuting Nao's point. "I was witness to total oblivion before waking to your face. If that does not speak of divine power, nothing does."

"Divine power..." Nao stared down at the table clutching her staff with a forlorn expression. "Morrighan's power, yes." Nao finally returned, "This has little relevance, though. Linde is a Milletian, and so she cannot die. That was the source of this conversation, right? There isn't anything more to it."

Louise made to say something more, but before anything else could be said, she abruptly vanished from the room in a haze of white light.

**.XXX.**

Tabitha steadily returned the gazes of the collections of old Osmond and the various teachers that had been arranged in the headmaster's office. Louise Valliere and Kirche were also present and despite their animosity toward one another they both seemed occupied with their own thoughts. Tabitha had a good idea what was bothering Kirche, the same ideas she had told her about after witnessing the events of the previous day.

Those being the miraculous existences that were the Giantess Linde and the possibly even grander Nao Pryderi. Tabitha cast her gaze down at the floor as the thoughts ate away at her ability to focus. Linde _should_ have been nothing but a puddle after what happened and Nao _shouldn't_ have been able to do anything about it but the purple haired woman was standing behind her summoner, alive and well... '_Impossible.'_

"While questioning those who live nearby, I was informed of a suspicious person who has been going to and from the nearby forest. There is an abandoned house inside that I was pointed towards as a possible hideout for the thief." Longueville announced to the gathered teachers who quieted their own whispered conversations in favor of listening to the secretary.

"Thank you, good word as always, Miss Longueville." Osmond nodded in approval.

"Based on what they told me I was able to draw this." Longueville held out a scroll of parchment that was quickly taken and looked over by Osmond. After a few moments he turned the paper around to show it to Louise and Tabitha, the only two who were close enough to get a look at the thief.

Tabitha nodded her assent while Louise didn't even notice what was happening for a few seconds, continuing to look at the wall lost in her thoughts before Osmond cleared his throat and drew her attention. "Oh, yes, that is him." Louise finally replied. The surrounding teachers muttered for a moment the name Fouquet was thrown around quite a bit.

"We should alert the Palace immediately, the Mage Knights will have the best chance of running the thief down." Professor Colbert said as he stepped towards Osmond.

"That will take far too long, if we do not act quickly the thief which I believe to be Fouquet the crumbling dirt will have plenty of time to escape. As the situation stands, he is likely to be running low on willpower and will need to rest before moving on, we have to act ourselves and quickly if we want to salvage this situation." Osmond replied, shifting a serious look towards the balding professor. "This task may very well determine the future of this academy, any of you who wish to volunteer please raise your wands."

The room resonated with a sudden quiet.

"Whats wrong? Does no one in this room wish to gain prestige by capturing Fouquet? They have an enormous bounty on their head as well, around three hundred thousand I believe. Surely one of you would like to claim the wealth if not the glory?" Osmond looked around to the other teachers in the room. No one moved forward, though Colbert shifted somewhat uncertainly and looked to be on the verge of saying something when Louise raised her wand.

"I'll go!" She declared quietly, though not without passion. Her lips were still pursed in thought.

Not to be outdone, Kirche volunteered soon afterward. Somewhat concerned for her friend, and interested in seeing what would happen were Linde to face Fouquet once more, Tabitha raised her staff alongside the others' wands.

**.XXX.**

Louise fumed, grumbling threats to the headmaster and his various body parts as she sat on the cart Longueville had commandeered for their short trip. Linde trotted beside them, easily keeping time with the horse after a short experience proved the poor mare had no chance of pulling her weight. The headmaster had completely glossed over her achievements! Well... achievement but she still felt he could of at least mentioned that she could summon a giant of all things.

Tabitha and Kirche were there, sitting at the back of the wagon, whispering about something.

"Ugh, its too hot here." Linde groaned as she trotted alongside the wagon face dripping with sweat "It's almost like visiting Fillia…"

"Fillia?" Miss Longueville inquired.

"Home of the elves," Linde commented distractedly, "It's in a desert. We were feeling the heat before we even saw any sand…"

"Elves?" Miss Longueville repeated, eyes penetrating. She wasn't the only one, either - Kirche and Tabitha had both ceased their conversation while Louise, who had been about to reprimand Linde for complaining, remained silent and listened attentively.

"Yes. I was accompanying a caravan destined for Fillia when… well, that doesn't matter." Linde replied before suddenly cutting herself off. "Physis, the homeland of the Giants, is far in the north. It's very cold, and the air there is thin. This humidity is unfamiliar. I've been to other places, of course, but never really acclimated to them." She changed the subject so fast and bluntly that it left everyone listening blinking in shock.

'_What is it about Fillia that she doesn't want to bring up?'_ Louise wondered. Was it the elves? Were they on good terms with each other and aware of the enmity between elves and humans, and so trying to conceal it?

"So travelling through the desert was rather unpleasant, I take it?" Kirche 'innocently' proposed, dragging the conversation back to its original subject kicking and screaming.

"Very." Linde answered simply, without elaboration.

A catlike smile stretched its way across the Germainian's face, "Oh? Was it just the heat, or maybe the company?"

"You could say we encountered some very unpleasant company." The giantess returned, unamused, with a distant expression on her face. "The kind that carries knives in hidden pockets, you know?" Despite complaining about the heat, the mammoth woman _shivered_. "Sharp knives that cut well, just as cold and uncaring as their wielders." She fixed a steely, almost dead gaze on Kirche. "We never reached our destination, and only two of us returned."

Longueville reached out and placed her hand on Linde's shoulder a sympathetic look in her eyes. "That sounds unpleasant indeed," The woman stated sincerely, "with luck, our own little expedition won't be nearly so ill-fated."

The rest of the trip passed in silence while Louise chewed over her thoughts.

**.XXX.**

Louise crouched behind a bush some distance from the shack Longueville had brought them to. Linde and Tabitha had rushed ahead and were now crouching next to the wall, ready to rush inside at a moments notice. The shack was nestled on the edge of a large clearing and the forest rose all around them to give the appearance of being walled in by the trees.

"It just looks like an old Lumberjack's cabin." Louise muttered.

"Any place will do for a thief on the run. It should not be a surprise they hid in a place like this Miss Longueville replied.

Linde peaked in through one of the broken windows before waving Tabitha past her. With as quiet of a gait as the giantess could manage she took a spot next to the door. With a sudden movement Linde kicked in the dilapidated door and she and Tabitha quickly vanished from view as they rushed inside. A few tense moments passed before Linde stuck her head out of the door and waved them forward.

Louise and Kirche quickly emerged from their hiding place but a voice stopped them before they could head for the cabin. "I should go scout the perimeter, the thief may be hiding nearby." Miss Longueville said in a low tone. Louise nodded and in only a moment the secretary had vanished into the surrounding trees.

When Louise and Kirche made it into the cabin they found it in a state of disarray. Linde was rapidly searching through drawers, tossing their contents all over the floor, while Tabitha calmly searched through each one without disturbing much.

Louise coughed while Kirche moaned about getting covered in dust.

"There isn't anything here." Linde said as she dumped another drawer full of items onto the ground.

"Stop being so messy!" Louise yelled wagging her finger at her unamused familiar.

"I'm just trying to be quick." Linde shot back.

"Staff of Destruction." Tabitha said quietly, stepping away from a chest on the other side of the room with a long box in her hands.

"You're getting dust everywhere and-" Louise suddenly stopped and turned towards Tabitha, an astonished look on her face.

Kirche quickly walked over to the box and was just about to undo the latch when a massive crash suddenly resonated from outside. Before anyone had a chance to move the roof was suddenly, violently ripped off of the wooden cabin.

A massive stone golem lumbered into view. It was smaller than the one that attacked the academy, but much more solidly built. The group tensed as suddenly another, more familiar golem made of dirt pushed past the cabin, some wooden debris trailing off of it, and crashed into the stone golem with tremendous force, knocking it back into the forest and crushing several trees.

The dirt golem straightened itself for a moment and shifted back toward the cabin. It took a step, and an instant later the stone golem from before charged out of the forest and slammed into its dirt counterpart with a thunderous sound that all present had reserved in their minds to Louise's explosions. But it didn't stop after impacting its foe. Wrapping both of its stubby, fingerless arms around the dirt golem, the diminutive stone golem lifted it into the air and charged past the cabin, disappearing from sight in the process. The sounds of trees falling in beat with its massive footsteps gave an indication of where it had gone, and several moments later there came another enormous crash. Then another. And another. A bizarre drum-beat of distant shockwaves sounded out through the air as, presumably, the golems pummeled one another into submission.

Wasting no more time, Linde quickly deposited Louise onto her shoulders before lifting Tabitha and Kirche under her arms and fleeing the cottage… just as a hooded figure stepped into view from the trees. "Nice job. I'm impressed that you found me so fast. And so young, too! Certainly, the clues I left behind were expected to help… but within a single day's time!"

Wordlessly, Linde dropped her passengers and stepped in front of them, one hand absently gripping where her sword once was. "So you were expecting us?" She queried, eyes scanning her surroundings for something to use as a weapon in case the thief summoned another golem. Where was Longueville?

"Yes," The thief's androgynous voice replied, amused, "was it not obvious? One would think an infamous rogue such as myself would cover their tracks better. As impressed as I am by the swiftness of the response, I wonder at the wit of it."

"It's a daring plan that invites enemies to your doorstep," Linde retorted, eyes landing on ruined terrain where the golems had been fighting before. "I wonder at the wit of it, myself. Surely an infamous rogue such as yourself would know better than to take such profound risks, yes?"

"Oh it is a great risk, I'm sure, with three school children and a weaponless brute. What do I have to worry about?" All traces of amusement were gone, though the thief's voice retained a contemptuous lining, "I've seen you before, I think. Squashed you flat, in fact. I wonder how you're still here?"

The giantess twitched, and an unsettling air settled over the clearing. "Your bounty. You're worth… three hundred thousand, was it?" She asked, surprisingly calm considering she had just been insulted. The thief nodded, and a predatory smile settled onto Linde's face. "Good. That sword you ruined - your broken body should suffice to replace it, yes? With interest, of course."

The thief laughed, "A sword? You would settle for a mere sword, instead of three hundred thousand gold?"

The giantess shifted slightly, placing one leg behind the other in preparation for… something. "Don't get me wrong, I plan on taking every penny. But you owe me. That sword cost thirty thousand gold!" Without any indication of warning, the enormous woman had taken off at a dead sprint, leaving small craters and clouds of dust with every heavy step she took.

Surprised, the thief didn't react for a moment, but that moment was not enough for Linde to close the gap and before she could get close a ramp of earth rose up beneath her. Whether it was meant to crush her or simply trip her, no one could tell. It didn't matter because the giantess simply jumped into the air and, using the platform as a stepping board, leaped… past the thief and into the forest.

The thief blinked, staring at where the giantess had been, before turning to the remaining party, audibly suppressing a snicker. "Well, that was-"

Before he could finish a broken log sailed out of the forest and clipped him on the shoulder. Crying out in pain, the thief was sent spiralling through the air before landing ungracefully onto the ground. Whimpering, he forced himself onto his feet and stared in the direction the log had come from, wand now held in the hand of his uninjured arm.

"_**THIRTY-THOUSAND GOLD!**_" Linde roared, standing triumphantly on an overturned boulder with another log in her hand, ready to toss. Before any response could be gathered, she pulled back her arm before rapidly chucking the log forward. Not particularly aerodynamic by nature, its steady path was a sign only of the tremendous force with which it had been thrown… and ultimately pointless as the thief conjured a wall of earth just in time for the log to splinter harmlessly against it.

The thief let out a sigh of relief… just in time to notice the area around him had grown rather cold. Before he could fully process what was happening, ice shot up from the ground, closing in around everything beneath his head. Then his wall crumbled as another log tossed by Linde broke through it and struck him in the chest, shattering the ice and knocking him onto the ground.

Hastily, he started mumbling a spell now that his wand had been freed… only for his eyes to widen into saucer plates as he was draped in shadow. Frantically rolling to the side - and losing his wand in the process - he barely avoided six hundred pounds of falling giantess striking the ground with enough force to leave a crater and kick up a cloud of dust.

Within, Linde's shadowed figure slowly stood and faced him, violet eyes glowing almost demonically due to a trick of the light. Trembling hands reached for his spare wand even as he shuffled backwards as quickly as he could. "Three months. Three months of travelling between cities, painstakingly building a large enough fortune to buy it and recover from the purchase afterward." The woman stated, voice unnaturally cold as she stepped forward every time he managed to gain any ground, "Three months of _**walking across the ENTIRE DAMN KINGDOM**_."

With a roar, Linde charged forward and lifted the thief into the air. Shaking him several times as if fighting the urge to simply strangle him, she casually snapped both his forearms with her free hand before tossing him aside like a rag doll and staring at him contemptuously, like a cat after it had caught a particularly troublesome mouse… only to find it was particularly runty and not even worth eating.

"Schoolgirls and a weaponless brute, eh?" A familiar, mocking voice came as Miss Longueville stepped out of the forest to stand over the thief's fallen form, a wand in her right hand. "What could you _possibly _have to worry about?" She shook her head in mock disappointment, "For _such_ an _infamous _thief… I'm really disappointed."

She flicked her wrist and the thief - who could no longer scrape up even the barest of whimpers - was encased neck to toe in stone.

Such was the ignoble end of the thief, 'Fouquet' the Crumbling Dirt.

Louise and Kirche stared at the man encased in the stone prison, completely stunned by the sudden almost anticlimactic end to the battle. In her hands Louise held a winged staff that she had been waving around in vain right up until Linde had leapt across the clearing like some kind of maniac.

"Where have you been?" Linde asked as she shot Longueville am annoyed look.

"I was off dealing with that other golem." She answered simply, waving a hand in a dismissive manner. "Or didn't you notice?" She grinned at the flat look the giantess gave her.

Linde turned to walk back over to the rest of the group but froze the moment she laid eyes on the staff held in Louise's hands. Her eyes slowly grew to the size of saucers. "Louise... do you have _any _idea how much that's worth?"

**.XXX.**

**Number III (Author's Notes):** So are you confused right now? This was a fun chapter to write, though it took a bit of time to write out [for which zere are no excuses!] but we hope it was worth the wait. Linde's fury over her ruined sword was actually Radon's idea, and was only thought of when we reached the actual scene.

**Radon (Co-Author's Notes):** It was ME! I did it, even if it didn't fit 100% and.. I didn't actually write it. Also Longueville's role in this chapter was something we've been planning for some time. If you made it this far why don't you review and tell us what you think? We are always happy to get them!


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